Bloody car leads police to teens accused in killing of football player, SC cops say
The discovery of a bloodied stolen car led police to the teenage suspects in the killing of a high school football player and honor student in Greenville County, South Carolina, according to the sheriff’s office.
Joshua Meeks, 16, was reported missing Jan. 30, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were able to get location data from Meeks’ phone and found his car with the passenger seat covered in “copious amounts” of blood, the station reports, according to FoxCarolinas.
The body of the Mauldin High School student was then found along a dirt road in neighboring Laurens County, according to the station.
Since discovering the body, police have arrested three teenagers in connection with the case. Deputies arrested Sosa Mandiez Croft, 18, Jan. 31, according to the department. Jail records show Croft has been charged with murder and several other crimes and is being held without bail.
Officers also arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the killing, but have not released his name because of his age, according to WYFF. The 16-year-old faces murder, armed robbery and other charges, the station reported.
Police arrested a third suspect, Lyric Mone Lawson, 18, Friday on a charge of “accessory after the fact to murder,” according to WSPA.
Jail records show Lawson was released on a $50,000 bond.
Deputies singled out Croft in the post on Facebook. “During the course of investigation, investigators learned that Croft and the victim had engaged in some sort of drug deal prior to Croft stealing the victim’s car and ultimately shooting him,” the department wrote.
Officers accused Lawson of helping the other suspects hide and move Meeks’ body, WSPA reports.
The arrest warrant for Croft and the 16-year-old say the pair planned to rob Meeks, Fox Carolinas reports.
“To the victim’s family I understand that nothing I say can ever bring Joshua back but I’m going to let you know this now, I’m working with my lawyer and I’m real-life telling who the killer is, who the person, the monster is, who took your son away from you, the person who pulled the trigger that night,” Croft told Meeks’ family during his bond hearing last week, according to Fox Carolinas.
The spelling of Mauldin High School has been corrected.
This story was originally published February 4, 2019 at 12:40 PM.
