20-year-old sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing 19-year-old in vehicle in Conway

A man was found guilty of murder at the Horry County courthouse Friday morning for his role in killing a 19-year-old inside his vehicle in Conway.

Tronahz Whittington, 20, was sentenced to 45 years in prison. His trial started Tuesday morning, and took four days.

In September of 2020, Horry County police found Jamie Johnson, 19, dead inside his vehicle and several people were charged in connection to his murder.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Nancy Livesay said Johnson’s murder was premeditated and planned. She said that Whittington and five other co-defendants knew Johnson’s route, routine, and waited until Johnson was near his neighborhood to shoot him on D street in the Conway area.

“They were watching him like a spider and waited,” Livesay said.

Livesay showed the jury a timeline of Sept. 12, the day Johnson died. She said every witness, including Whittington, confirmed they were in the car with each other that day.

The state argued that Whittington was in the passenger seat before jumping out and firing at Johnson.

They “cut him off, and trapped him like an animal,” Livesay told the jury.

Defense attorney Ralph Wilson told the jury during arguments that the state did not know who killed Johnson, based on witness testimony. He argued that no witness said that Whittington made them shoot.

Wilson also told the jury that Whittington told law enforcement who else was involved.

The defense attorney made two other points against the state’s case. One, that a Horry County coroner who testified did not actually read the pathology report, and two, that a firearms expert from SLED who testified could not identify the guns at the crime scene based on ammunition.

When officials hide things, he said, “it tanks the whole system.”

The jury deliberated for a little less than two hours Friday morning before reaching a guilty verdict. A motion by the defense for a new trial was denied by Judge Steven Deberry.

Cases against the other co-defendants remain active.