Pubdate: Sun, 01 Feb 2009
Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)
Copyright: 2009 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.charleston.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567
Note: Rarely prints LTEs received from outside its circulation area
Author: Schuyler Kropf

SHOOTING DEATH BLAMED ON DRUGS

Sheriff's Office Says Man, 23, Died In Deal Gone Bad

Detectives are investigating the shooting death of a  James Island 
man gunned down outside a Fort Johnson  Road gathering spot late 
Friday in a hail of bullets  that might have included an AK-47 assault rifle.

The shooting was described as a drug deal gone bad, and  authorities 
said they were alarmed by the power of the  weaponry involved. As 
many as 15-20 shots were fired.

Two men who wrecked in a bullet-holed vehicle while  trying to flee 
the scene were questioned in the case  but later released. They 
remain persons of interest.

The dead man was identified as Vladimir Merlice, 23, of  James 
Island. He was shot once in the head but not by  an AK-47 ammunition, 
said Charleston County Deputy  Coroner Bobbi Jo O'Neal.

Merlice died at the scene.

The gunfire took place outside a building used as a  local 
neighborhood gathering spot near the 1100 block  of Fort Johnson Road 
at Aaron White Lane, but it is not  licensed as an operating business.

"It's one of those little rural hole-in-the-wall  places," Maj. John 
Clark, spokesman for the Charleston  County Sheriff's Office, said 
Saturday. Numerous shell  casings were found at the scene.

Clark said authorities have dealt with heavy weaponry  of this nature 
before in fighting the drug trade, but,  he added, "It's a bit scary 
to see that that's what  this has come to."

The drug deal reportedly involved marijuana. The two  suspects who 
were detained confirmed they were meeting  with the victim to buy 
drugs, Clark said.

"At some point during this transaction, there was some  kind of 
altercation and shots were fired," said Clark,  who added there does 
not appear to be sufficient  evidence at present connecting either 
man to committing  homicide.

The men were apprehended shortly after the shooting  when their car 
wrecked into a ditch at a high speed  about 150 yards from the scene. 
The vehicle was towed  and searched. The weapon used in the fatal 
shooting has  not been recovered.

The shooting represents the dangers of the drug trade,  Clark said. 
"It just went terribly wrong for the  victim."
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