2 charged in Sumter, Lee counties after fatal shooting of 27-year-old woman

Two men have been charged in connection to the fatal shooting of a Sumter woman early Saturday. An investigation is ongoing to determine if more are involved. 

Officers with Sumter Police Department responded to a call of shots fired at 2:14 a.m. on May 9 along Carolina Avenue, where a home had been struck by gunfire. 

Minutes later, a call, later determined to be related to the earlier report, notified officers that a woman had been brought to the hospital in a personal vehicle with a gunshot wound. 

Arieyelle Coulette, 27, of Sumter, succumbed to her injuries at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital, according to Tonyia McGirt, public information officer with the police department.

Next of kin has been notified by Sumter County Coroner’s Office, and an autopsy is scheduled for this week at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Officers determined that shots were fired from near a parked vehicle toward another vehicle that was passing by. Coulette, a passenger in the vehicle passing by, and a nearby home were struck, McGirt said. No other injuries were reported.

Information gathered led officers to a parked vehicle and two suspects in Lee County. 

Elijah Handy, 19, of Bishopville, and Dorein Antwon Vereen-Price, 28, who has ties to Florence and Longs, were each charged with murder and taken into custody. They remain at Sumter County Sheriff’’s Office Detention Center, and additional charges are pending. 

Handy also received weapons-related charges by Lee County Sheriff’s Office. 

Officers are working to determine if other individuals are involved, their identities and what circumstances led to the gunfire. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Sumter Police Department at (803) 436-2000. 

Tips can also be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718, at p3tips.com or on the P3 Tips app for mobile devices.