February 19, 2014
(Anderson, SC.)Twenty-two year old Zedrick Tyler O’Neal Ramsey pled guilty today in Anderson County to multiple charges stemming from an attempted armed robbery in 2012. The Honorable Cordell Maddox sentenced Ramsey to 25 years suspended to 13 years plus 5 years probation for 3 counts of kidnapping, 20 years suspended to 13 years plus 5 years probation for one count of attempted armed robbery and one year for possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. All sentences are to be served concurrently. Although Ramsey received credit for 169 days served in the detention center, he will receive no credit for time spent on electronic monitoring.
On September 17, 2012 at approximately 5:40 in the morning, the defendant, Zedrick Ramsey, and co-defendant, Carlos Scott, entered the Waffle House on the Highway 28 Bypass within Anderson County. They had covered their faces and were wearing gloves. Ramsey was brandishing a sawed-off shotgun. They demanded money and told a customer and two employees not to move. When an employee was unable to open the cash register out of nervousness, Ramsey fired the shotgun in the direction of the seated customer. A sign and door took the impact of the shell that was fired and all the victims escaped serious injury. At this time, a third employee pulled up in the parking lot to begin her shift. This startled the defendant and co-defendant who ran out the door and fled in a stolen SUV. The SUV was later recovered and inside was a glove which was tested by SLED and found to have Ramsey’s DNA inside. The co-defendant in this case gave a statement to law enforcement identifying himself and this defendant as the two individuals who had committed this crime, and he had agreed to testify at trial against this defendant. He pled guilty to all charges with a deferred sentence on 07/25/2013. Ramsey also gave a statement and said he was not present when the armed robbery took place, but upon investigation into his alibi by Detective Mark Gregory and Sergeant Rob Gebing, his story was determined to be false. When the defendant was arrested for these crimes, the home in which he was found was searched. A sawed-off shotgun was found which was later tested by a ballistics expert and matched to the fired shell found at the scene of the incident.
Ramsey and Scott were arrested on September 27th. While out on bond, Ramsey violated the conditions of his electronic monitoring and a bench warrant was issued. The defendant was rearrested on January 17, 2014.
“The evidence clearly shows that Zedrick Ramsey was responsible for this crime and that he was the one who fired the shotgun inside the restaurant,” said Solicitor Chrissy Adams. “It is by the grace of God that no one was killed as a result of Ramsey’s violent actions. I want to thank the detectives in this case whose investigation led to the arrest and conviction of Zedrick Ramsey and Carlos Scott.”