Man convicted after shooting Bluffton host who sheltered him, then asked him to leave

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - A Beaufort County jury convicted a 20-year-old Atlanta man in the shooting death of a Bluffton resident who had been giving him and his teenage girlfriend a place to stay.

Jurors found Jeremiah Theodore McGee-Ashton guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 57-year-old Mark “Tony” Haynes and guilty of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Records show Bluffton police were called to a home on Buck Island Road around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2022, where investigators said McGee-Ashton and his 16-year-old girlfriend had been staying.

Officers found Haynes suffering from three gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital in Savannah, where he later died.

According to witness statements and testimony described by prosecutors, Haynes had allowed the couple to stay in his home for about two months. Witnesses told investigators that neither McGee-Ashton nor his girlfriend worked or contributed to the household.

Prosecutors said Haynes also tried to help McGee-Ashton find work by bringing him to his landscaping job. At one point, when Haynes confronted him about being lazy and spending time on his phone instead of working, investigators said McGee-Ashton lifted his shirt to show a handgun tucked into his waistband.

On the night of the shooting, prosecutors said Haynes came home to find the couple on the couch and told them to leave. Investigators said he began putting their belongings outside, and an argument followed after Haynes unplugged an extension cord charging their phones.

McGee-Ashton told investigators the gun fired during a struggle and said his finger was never on the trigger, prosecutors said.

Authorities testified that evidence did not match that account. Haynes was shot once in the leg and twice in the chest, prosecutors said.

McGee-Ashton ran to a nearby home shortly after the shooting, investigators said. Authorities said he turned himself in about five hours later, wearing different clothes than he had on at the time.

A resident later found the handgun under a boat at the property where McGee-Ashton fled and turned it over to police, prosecutors said. Investigators testified the gun had been disassembled and was missing its barrel, preventing a direct match to the bullets recovered from the scene and Haynes’ body. Even so, prosecutors said it was matched to shell casings found at the home, and McGee-Ashton’s DNA was detected on the trigger.

Deputy Solicitor Mary Jones prosecuted the case, calling 12 witnesses over two days at the Beaufort County Courthouse, prosecutors said.

“Tony Haynes showed charity in taking two people in need into his home,” Jones said in a statement. “The defendant repaid this charity with ingratitude, then with violent fury when Mr. Haynes decided he had had enough and asked them to leave.”

Circuit Court Judge Marvin Dukes imposed the 15-year sentence.

The solicitor’s office said Jones is a member of its Career Criminal Unit, which focuses on violent and habitual offenders.