Man arrested in fatal shooting on Lady's Island

The St. Helena man accused of shooting and killing a Beaufort sailor outside the Masonic Lodge on Lady's Islandwas arrested Tuesday.

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Melvin Holmes Jr.

Bentley

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Melvin Holmes Jr., 23, turned himself into Beaufort County Sheriff's Office investigators at about noon Tuesday.

Holmes faces charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime after police say he shot and killed 22-year-old Mario Morgan, a U.S. Navy hospitalman stationed at Naval Hospital Beaufort, during an argument early Sunday outside the Masonic Lodge. Morgan was fatally shot in the neck, according to the Coroner's Office.

Holmes was being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.

The Sheriff's Office also arrested Lashawnda Cecilia Bentley, 20, of Beaufort on Monday afternoon for providing false information to investigators about the shooting.

Police say Bentley knowingly made a series of false statements during interviews with investigators. She was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on Tuesday on $1,092.50 bail.

The shooting at the Masonic Lodge was the lone fatal shooting in a recent rash of area gun violence, during which seven shootings have been reported since July 5. Investigators say there is no information linking Morgan's death or Holmes to any of the other shootings.

Despite Holmes' arrest, the Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the shooting, and encourages anyone with information to call Investigator Cpl. Brian Chapman at 843-470-3469 or the Beaufort County Dispatch Center at 843-524-2777. The shooting is also being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.