AIKEN, S.C. — Morris Laytrell Dorch, the 39-year-old Aiken man charged with shooting Aiken County sheriff’s Deputy Preston Metts, will stay in jail after a judge refused to set bond Wednesday.
Dorch was brought back from Jacksonville, Florida, and was jailed at the Aiken County Detention Center by Tuesday night. During the hearing Wednesday, the judge found he posed a risk of flight and a threat to the public, and ordered him to have no contact with the deputy or his family. A deputy solicitor told the court he should not get bond, and the 2nd Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case.
The charges against him are attempted murder plus two weapons counts, one tied to using a gun in a violent crime and one for having a gun despite past convictions. Sheriff Marty Sawyer, who attended the hearing, pointed to the trip to Jacksonville as proof that Dorch might run.
Investigators say Metts stopped a vehicle on Shiloh Heights Road late on Oct. 21. A passenger jumped out and ran, and during the foot chase the deputy was hit several times by fire from an AR-style gun. Metts has had two successful surgeries and faces more. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division took over the investigation at the request of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, and the state agency counts it as the 36th shooting involving an officer in South Carolina this year.
Two others were also charged. Leviel Priester, 41, is accused of helping Dorch avoid capture, and Teondra Coleman, 32, faces a misprision of a felony charge. All three are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Dorch is due back in court on Dec. 18.
Section: More Aiken SC crime news
Filed under: Aiken SC Crime News
