Jailed SC man charged with murder in case of body found dumped by the road, police say
The Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office has an arrest warrant for a man connected to a September homicide. But the man they want to arrest is already in jail on charges of attempted murder, according to deputies.
Kershaw deputies announced Friday that they have a warrant to arrest 25-year-old Corey Duane Perrine of Lexington. Perrine is wanted in the homicide of Cletis Edward Baker, Jr., according to investigators.
Currently, Perrine is jailed in North Carolina on two attempted murder charges, deputies said. Kershaw county investigators have placed a detainer on Perrine and arrangements are being made to formally charge him in South Carolina.
On Sept. 18, a woman going home from work found a body on Damascus Church Road near Flatrock Road in Westville, which is about 16 miles north of Camden, according to Kershaw County Coroner David West. The sheriff and coroner’s offices began investigating and quickly determined that the person was likely killed elsewhere and dumped on Damascus Church Road.
The next day, Coroner West identified the victim as 44-year-old Cletis Edward Baker, Jr. of Camden, better known as Eddie to friends and family.
After some investigation, deputies discovered that Baker was killed at a location on the 100 block of Doc Humphries Road in Camden, according to a report by ABC New 4. The area was near a known drug house where police had searched and made arrests in the past, they said.
By Sept. 22 four Camden men were charged with accessory to murder in Baker’s case.
Police charged Christopher Gary Beasley, 19, Joseph Michael Edwards, 35, Ronny Mac English, 53, Jackson Perry Jacobs, 27. Edwards was also charged with trafficking methamphetamine, court records show.
Beasley, Edwards and Jacobs remain jailed on bonds that haven’t been posted while English is out of jail. All are awaiting court proceedings.
Baker was a carpenter and avid fisherman, his obituary said.
He “was a hard worker and he had one heck of a personality.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2019 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Jailed SC man charged with murder in case of body found dumped by the road, police say."