ANDERSON, SC–After a three day trial, an Anderson County jury has convicted Damorius Gaines of Armed Robbery, Attempted Armed Robbery, 2 counts of Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime, and Unlawful Possession of a Pistol. The Honorable Cordell Maddox, Jr., sentenced Gaines to 20 years provided upon the service of 15 years, with the balanced suspended to 5 years of probation. Gaines will have to serve at least 85% of this sentence before he is eligible for parole.
On February 16, 2017, at around 7:40 pm, Damorius Gaines attempted to gain entry into the Little General located at 1001 S. Murray Avenue. He was masked and armed with a handgun. Fortunately, store employees had just locked the doors and he was unable to complete the robbery. About 20 minutes later on the same night, Gaines, again masked and armed with a handgun, entered the Dollar Tree located at 910 S. Main Street, where he held a cashier at gunpoint and forced her to give him money from her register. Both of these incidents were captured on surveillance videos. If not for the fact that Gaines lifted his mask to reveal a brief glimpse of his face after failing to gain entry into the Little General, coupled with an informant tip, Gaines may never have been apprehended.
“We will not allow people like Mr. Gaines to terrorize or even attempt to prey upon Anderson County businesses and their hard working employees. Our community is safer tonight with Mr. Gaines behind bars. I want to thank the Anderson Police Department for their hard work investigating these crimes and for working with my office to secure these convictions,” said Solicitor David Wagner following the verdict.