Jasper Co. jury finds leader of ‘Burton Boys’ guilty in 2023 double murder of twin brothers

JASPER COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Following a three-day trial, a Jasper County jury has found Tayquan Lampkin guilty on all counts for his role in the December 2023 shooting that claimed the lives of twin brothers and injured two others outside an Okatie bar.

After a little over three hours of deliberation, the jury of nine men and three women returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all five charges Lampkin faced, including the murders of 24-year-old twin brothers Trajaan and Tranquan Fripp.

Following the verdict, the judge sentenced Lampkin to consecutive life sentences on the murder charges, plus a combined 35 years on the three remaining counts. Each sentence will run concurrently.

A birthday turned tragic

The fatal shooting took place in December 2023 in the parking lot of a business on Riverwalk Boulevard in Okatie. Investigators say the gunfire erupted after a dispute between rival groups escalated.

Tranquan and Trajaan Fripp were gunned down just four days after celebrating their 24th birthday. Investigators confirmed the twins were unarmed when they were shot.

“Twenty-four years is far too short. They had so much life ahead of them, dreams they yet to accomplish, memories they yet to make,” Sister of the Fripp twins, Darielle Harris, said. “They were both loving fathers to young boys, who will now have to grow up without their dads.”

Harris described the lasting impact of the tragedy on those who knew the brothers.

“The consequences of that moment will last for generations. Every person that loved them will carry this loss for the rest of their lives.”

Forensic evidence and ‘Burton Boys’ Leadership

Prosecutors identified Lampkin as the central figure and the clear leader in this shooting.

“They were violently, ruthlessly gunned down by the Burton Boys, and the clear leader of the Burton Boys is sitting in this courtroom today,” Prosecutor with the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Trasi Campbell, said.

On Wednesday, jurors viewed surveillance footage capturing portions of the shooting and heard testimony from forensic specialists who presented evidence ranging from DNA and clothing to bullet casings collected at the scene.

Investigators believe three separate weapons were used in the shootout, including two equipped with “Glock switches”, illegal conversion devices that allow semi-automatic pistols to fire fully automatically. Neither of those firearms has been recovered.

According to state investigators, the evidence showed that Lampkin fired the fatal rounds.

Prosecutors also revealed that Lampkin was captured on video recording the dead bodies of the twins after the shooting, an act the state argued was intended to send a hostile message to the rival group.

While Lampkin’s defense attorney argued there was insufficient evidence to convict, noting that no witness testified to seeing Lampkin at the scene that night, the jury ultimately sided with the prosecution’s forensic and circumstantial case.

Next steps and remaining trials

Lampkin will be transferred from the Jasper County Detention Center to a state prison within the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his life sentence. Under state law, Lampkin retains the right to appeal his conviction.

Lampkin is the first of three suspects to stand trial in connection with the double homicide.

Two other co-defendants, Jamar Smith-Hagood and Andrew Lee Grober II, are also facing charges in the case.

Court officials say trials for both Smith-Hagood and Grober are currently scheduled for 2027.