FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 20, 2017 Woodruff Man Receives Life Prison Sentence for Murder & Kidnapping

A Woodruff man received a life without parole prison sentence today for shooting a man to death and stuffing the victim’s body in his getaway vehicle.

Marcus Q. Todd, 21, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping after a two-day jury trial.

Todd shot 29-year-old Jermaine R. West on May 23, 2016 in the front yard of a Woodruff Street home. When Woodruff police responded, they found a large amount of blood, shell casings and a bullet at the crime scene. Witnesses described how Todd shot West multiple times and forced him into the late model Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving. Todd sped away from the crime scene and West was never seen again.

A witness recorded part of the shooting on a cell phone and shared it with police. Still photos of the crime were also collected.

Woodruff officers, sheriff’s deputies and West’s family conducted extensive searches for the body in the days that followed. Todd turned himself into the Spartanburg County jail a day after the shooting and his vehicle was recovered 3 days later in a wooded area near Drummond Road.

Deputy Solicitor Derrick Bulsa and Assistant Solicitor Megan Moricle utilized the video evidence along with testimony from law enforcement and lay witnesses to secure the conviction.

Todd ’s prior criminal record included convictions for accessory after the fact of a felony and assaulting an officer while resisting arrest.

For more information, contact Murray Glenn at 809-4892 or [email protected].

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