14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, OwensboroSC Sheriff: Dead motel robber was going to rape clerk

SC Sheriff: Dead motel robber was going to rape clerk

Investigators say 43-year-old Vincent Carson of Orangeburg entered a Days Inn motel at 133 sometime before 6:00 a.m.

As the female clerk went into the breakfast room to prepare breakfast, she found Carson waiting inside. The victim said Carson held a knife to her throat and said, "This is a robbery."

Investigators said when her attacker slipped the knife into his pants pocket to begin tying her up with plastic ties, the woman pulled a handgun from under her shirt, turned, and fired into the man's chest at point blank range.

Deputies say the victim was about 100 pounds lighter than Carson and stood at least a foot shorter than him.   

When deputies got to the scene, they found the suspect unresponsive on the floor. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Carson died from a single gunshot to the chest.   

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Carson's intent was not only to rob the motel, but also to rape the clerk.

He says, "There's no doubt that was his intent. Not only was he going to rob her, but he was going to sexually assault her. Now what was he going to do after that assault was over with, we don't know."

The clerk was not injured, but was taken to Palmetto Baptist Hospital as a precaution. Sheriff Lott says this was an unfortunate situation in which the victim feared for her life and defended herself.

Sheriff Lott also says the clerk had been victimized in one of two recent robberies at the same Days Inn and had gotten permission from her employer to carry a .22 caliber gun. 

No charges have been filed, and deputies say they don't expect to file any.

The suspect was wanted in at least one other motel robbery in the Midlands.

Copyright 2011 WIS. All rights reserved.