ROCKINGHAM — A second South Carolina teenager has been charged in a December attempted robbery linked to a fatal crash.
A grand jury on Monday indicted 17-year-old Hessan Malik Brown, of Bennettsville, on felony charges of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a weapon into an occupied property.
After being entered as wanted, Brown was arrested by the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office and jailed without bond. Deputies say he was extradited to Richmond County on Tuesday and booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $250,000 secured bond.
Deputies haven’t given any details as to Brown’s involvement, but previously told the Daily Journal that 17-year-old Quamane Requan McCall, of Wallace, and Brandon Devon Pegues tired to rob a man on Maggie Drive of $300 on Dec. 18.
While fleeing the scene in a 2013 Chevy Cruze, they were involved in a wreck at the intersection of Battley Dairy and Airport roads — about a quarter-mile away.
Troopers with the N.C. Highway Patrol said McCall, who was driving the car, ran a stop sign while traveling west on Battley Dairy Road and struck the side of 1984 Dodge Power Ram pickup truck — the impact sending both vehicles into a violent spin. The truck crashed into a fire hydrant and the car flipped over, coming to rest on its roof.
The truck’s driver and passenger were taken to Sandhills Regional Medical Center in Hamlet and then one of those patients was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, according to troopers.
Pegues was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where he died Dec. 23. McCall was taken to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.
Deputies say one of the men was wearing a bandana around his face and a handgun was found by the vehicle.
A warrant for McCall’s arrest was issued Jan. 4 and he was taken into custody at his home by Marlboro County deputies.
He was charged with a felony count of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and booked into the Richmond County Jail the following day under a $25,000 secured bond. He was still in jail as of Thursday.
Brown is scheduled to appear in Richmond County Superior Court on April 4. There is no court date listed for McCall.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
When minors are in jail, they can be in a common area with other inmates when out of their cells, but are separated when they are locked down, according to Chief Deputy Mark Gulledge.
Defendants 16 and older are treated as adults under North Carolina criminal law.
However, District Attorney Reece Saunders told the Daily Journal last fall that there is a push in the state to have 16 and 17-year-olds charged as juveniles.
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.
