Death penalty demanded for mass murderer arrested in Burke County

SPARTANBURG, SC – Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a mass murderer who arrested in Burke County after being on the run.

James Douglas Drayton, 26, was arrested nearly two years ago on suspicion of shooting five people.

According to authorities, he attempted to rob a supermarket and kidnap a clerk early in the morning before being caught.

The Robber entered the Taylor Bros. X-Press on US 25 north of Waynesborosearched for the saleswoman at gunpoint and led her from the kitchen to the cash register while demanding money. He stole an unknown amount of money, authorities said.

Officers spotted the car and pursued it until it crashed near South Liberty and Manau streets and the driver fled on foot. Drayton was caught during a lengthy foot chase when he jumped a fence.

According to media reports, the 7th Judicial District Attorney's Office filed a motion last week expressing its plans to seek the death penalty for Drayton.

No trial date has been set.

Drayton was arrested in October 2022 and charged with five counts of murder and five counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The victims were found in a home in Inman, about 13 miles northwest of Spartanburg. Four of them were dead at the scene: Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37; James Derek Baldwin, 49; Mark Allen Hewitt, 59; and Adam Daniel Morley, 32. The fifth person shot, Roman Christean Megael Rocha, 19, later died in the hospital.

Drayton's attorney, public defender Michael David Morin, declined to comment, citing ongoing proceedings.

At the time of Drayton's arrest, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said Drayton confessed to the murders and told police he was under the influence of methamphetamine and had not slept in four days. Drayton turned over the gun he allegedly used to kill everyone in the house where he also lived. Wright said people frequently went there to do drugs.

South Carolina is one of 27 states that allows the death penalty, but has not carried out an execution since 2011. A recent South Carolina Supreme Court ruling upholding the use of firing squads, lethal injection and the electric chair opened the door for a resumption of executions in the state.

All rights reserved.