Spartanburg County Solicitor's Office
Raekwon Davante Richardson sentenced tp life in prison.
A Spartanburg man has been Raekwon Davante Richardson,
Raekwon Davante Richardson, 27, was tried and found guilty of Burglary in the 1st Degree, Attempted Armed Robbery, and Possession of a Weapon During Commission of a Violent Crime. The trial began on Monday, July 15 in Spartanburg. Circuit Court Judge R. Keith Kelly presided over the trial, received the jury’s guilty verdict, and then issued the sentence on Thursday, July 18, 2024. Richardson received a sentence of life in prison without parole for the Burglary and Attempted Armed Robbery pursuant to South Carolina law, specifically S.C. Code Ann. Section 17-25-45 which provides for a sentence of life in prison without parole when convicted of certain crimes.
In the early morning hours of October 25, 2022, the occupants of a home on Georgia Street in Clifton awoke to multiple men banging on the door of their home. A group of four men was trying to gain access to the home where the victim, his fiancé, and their infant were living. One man, Raekwon Davante Richardson, kicked in the front door of the home. The victim did not recognize the men who were all dressed in hoodies with masks. The victim’s dog, Tank, attacked the first intruder and bit him on the left leg. Multiple men in the group then shot the dog as the group ran from the home’s porch. Tank expired as a result of the gunshot wounds he sustained from the group when protecting his home and the victim. The home’s surveillance video captured footage of the four men approaching the residence armed with guns and a duffle bag. The surveillance video also captured images of the first intruder, Richardson, limping away and not putting weight on his right leg as he walked from the residence. As the men left, they dropped a roll of duct tape. A neighbor living one street over from the victim woke the next morning to find Richardson bleeding on her front porch. The neighbor did not know Richardson and called law enforcement. Richardson refused to provide information regarding the gunshot wound to his right leg or the dog-bite wound on his left leg. Richardson also refused to name the men with him on October 25 at the victim’s home; the other men involved have not been identified.
Richardson’s prior criminal history included convictions for Assault and Battery 3rd Degree, Burglary 2nd Degree, Unlawful Carrying of a Handgun, Domestic Violence 1st Degree, and Attempted Armed Robbery.
Assistant Solicitor Spenser Smith and Matthew Henderson prosecuted Richardson. Smith lauded the quick reaction by the victim’s dog, Tank, and commented that “he likely saved lives that morning with his reaction to Richardson and the other men.” Smith added, “if Tank was not at the home, the ultimate events that occurred probably would have been worse and Mr. Richardson might never have been identified.”