Released by Greenville County.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins states that Adam Thomas Byrum, age 24, pled guilty on December 10, 2020 to Murder and two counts of Attempted Murder. Byrum was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Letitia Verdin to fifty (50) years for the murder charge and thirty (30) years each for the attempted murder charges, with sentences to run concurrently in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Evidence presented at the plea hearing by Assistant Solicitor Marcus Smith established that on March 13, 2019, Adam Thomas Byrum arranged to meet his co-worker Jacori Ashley, age 21 and Ashley’s passenger, Kalo McCullough, age 27 at the Dollar General off Locust Hill Road in Travelers Rest for the purpose of Byrum obtaining a ride. When victims Ashley and McCullough arrived, Byrum and his co-defendant, both armed with .380 caliber firearms, walked up to the car and after an exchange, Byrum shot into the vehicle numerous times. Ashley sustained several gunshot wounds to the face and shoulder. McCullough sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, one of which caused a traumatic spinal injury resulting in permanent paralysis from the chest down.
On March 17, 2019, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office responded to 6077 Locust Hill Road in Travelers Rest and found a deceased white male, later identified as Jamie Dale Smith, age 32, slumped over the center console of a Ford F-150 which was partially in the roadway and partially in the entrance to a business. Victim Jamie Smith had been shot twice in the head and two .380 caliber shell casings were also found inside the vehicle. After a review of the victim’s phone records and location of a handwritten note with information identifying an phone number for Byrum and an arranged meeting location, investigators determined that Smith met Byrum near the location where his body was located.
On March 18, 2019, an attempt to locate and arrest the Defendant was carried out at his residence, which was a short distance from the sites of both incidents. Byrum attempted to flee, but was apprehended by deployment of a deputy’s K-9. Two .380 firearms were located in the residence where Byrum and his co-defendant had been living. Charges against the co-defendant are still pending.
