One of two Horry County teenagers charged in connection with a kidnapping and rape case around Halloween weekend in 2021 will serve 30 years in prison.
www.myhorrynews.com
Loris teen sentenced in Conway criminal sexual conduct, attempted murder case
Ja'Real Warren was sentenced to 30 years in the state's correctional facilities. Photo credit to Chase Duncan
By Chase
Duncanchase.duncan@myhorrynews.com
One of two Horry County teenagers charged in connection with a kidnapping and rape case in 2021 will serve 30 years in prison.
Jareal Tavon Warren, 19, of Loris pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime on Tuesday afternoon at the Horry County Courthouse.
One of two Horry County teenagers charged in connection with a kidnapping and rape case around Halloween weekend in 2021 will serve 30 years in prison.
www.myhorrynews.com
The victim’s family was present as the prosecution played the 911 call made after good Samaritans found and aided the victim on the side of the road.
Warren’s eyes kept focused on the floor as the room silently listened to nearly 10 minutes of audio recorded from the aftermath of the attack, which included cries from the victim audibly in the background as the callers attempt to answer questions from a 911 dispatcher.
Warren and Mije Basnight were both charged as adults with attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, carjacking, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Warren also received a charge of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Basnight remains incarcerated at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
Warren and Basnight were accused of forcing the victim, who was visiting her sister at Coastal Carolina University, into the back of her car in a parking lot of an apartment complex off S.C. 544. The victim was choked, smacked in the face with a pistol and told struggling would result in her death, according to arrest warrants.
Before sentencing, the victim and her mother delivered statements to the courtroom, telling the defendant how the violent attack irreparably damaged the victim’s physical and emotional well being.
“My daughter will never be the same,” the victim’s mother said. “My family will never be the same. She will forever be looking over her shoulder when she leaves the house, when she is walking to her car, when she’s going to the grocery store. The past year and a half we’ve been riddled with anxiety every time she leaves the house.”
The victim’s mother said both she and her husband now constantly track their daughter’s movements through the Find my iPhone app.
“As the victim of this crime, I fully believe this man, or criminal, should receive the maximum sentence for his actions,”
the victim said, addressing the courtroom. “My family, along with all my loved ones, have been forever changed. I live in constant fear, and now any normal life encounters are now triggers for me. Any loud noise, random men yelling, or even my preschooler students innocently pretending to shoot a gun with their fingers, are all triggers. I even got a service dog for myself to help subside my fear of going anywhere alone, especially at night. I would not wish what happened to me upon anyone, and I truly believe that if this man is ever free again, he will continue with these horrific, violent crimes or worse. This man is a danger to society.”
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Defendant attorney Kia Wilson said that based on neurological studies, the defendant’s brain was not fully developed at the time of the crime, which should be taken into account in the sentencing. Wilson said the defendant was a minor at the time.
Warren received the maximum prison sentence and is not eligible for parole.
“This case, in the state’s opinion, represents a lot of worst fears coming true,” prosecutor Leigh Waller said addressing the courtroom. “Fear for the victim, certainly for the parents, who were out of state when this happened, and just the citizens of Horry County. The victim was going about their everyday lives when she was snatched up by strangers and subjected to a horrific, violent attack on her most personable being, her body.”
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said this type of violent, random crime is a rarity in
his profession, calling it a “2 percenter.”
“My first thoughts on this case were on how horrific the events were,” he said. “And I tell people all the time that if you’re going to or from work, you’re safe. Unless you’re selling or buying dope or trying to rob people. In this instance, it is an anomaly. This young lady did nothing, she was a true victim. It’s because of her efforts to see justice done that he got such a stiff sentence. And I believe he deserved that sentence.”
Basnight's charges are still pending.
Richardson said Basnight was not as violent and did not participate in the rape and could receive a lighter sentence. Richardson said Basnight still enabled the act as an accomplice.
“We fully expected this to be a trial, because we weren’t expecting to give them anything,” he said.
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