KEY POINTS

  • A second man linked to the death of Ja'Naiya Scott has been charged
  • Desmond Bruton: murder, four counts of attempted murder, possession of weapon during violent crime
  • Bruton became the second person to be charged over the death of Scott
  • Stephen Branden Powell was arrested on July 3, 2019
  • Powell was charged with one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder

Police in Anderson, South Carolina have arrested a second person in connection to the death of an 11-year-old girl last year.

Desmond Bruton, who was 21, was charged Thursday, July 9, with murder, four counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, police told 7 News.

Bruton became the second person to be charged over the death of Ja'Naiya Scott. Stephen Branden Powell, who was 18, was arrested on July 3, 2019 and was charged with one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

Courtroom
This photo shows a view of the defendant's table in a courtroom closed due to budget cuts and layoffs, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on March 16, 2009. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Powell was denied bail by Anderson Municipal judge Goetz Eaton, said the Independent Mail.

Bruton was taken from the Spartanburg County Detention Center where he was being held on unrelated charges. He was then transferred to the Anderson City Jail.

“My condolences out to the family, or whatever, but I really don't have anything to do with this case. I heard about what happened and I'm just as confused as everyone else,” said Bruton.

Police said more than 35 shots were fired at Scott's home on West End Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on July 23, 2019. Officers who responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call about the incident said Scott's 20-year-old brother was on the front porch screaming for help while their mother, Mershella Rice was inside the house, asking police to help Scott.

Scott's 18-year-old sister and 11-year-old cousin were in the house when the incident happened. Both were injured during the shooting and was rushed to the AnMed Health Medical Center.

Both have since recovered from their injuries, said ABC News.

Scott, meanwhile, didn't make it. She was pronounced dead at the hospital's emergency room, less than an hour after the shooting. Anderson County coroner Greg Shore told the Independent Mail in another article that a bullet went through Scott's right shoulder, severing her subclavian artery in the process.

The ruptured artery caused Scott to “quickly lose a tremendous amount of blood,” Shore added.

Anderson Police Captain Mike Aikens said a pistol and a semiautomatic rifle were used in the shooting. This evidence convinced police Chief Jim Stewart to speculate that there had to be two people involved in the murder.

Bruton was also denied bail during his hearing, said ABC News.

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