By Tonya Root
The Sun News
CONWAY, S.C. — A 21-year-old Conway man was ordered to serve 25 years in prison for shooting at police after he ran from a state trooper who tried to stop him in 2013 for a seat belt violation.
Richard Lee Cochran IV, 21, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon before Circuit Court Judge George C. James Jr., who sentenced him on: failure to stop for a blue light, sentenced to three years in prison; three counts of attempted murder, 25 years on each charge; unlawful carrying of a pistol, one year; resisting arrest with a deadly weapon, 10 years; possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, five years.
On Monday, Cochran told James he had been smoking marijuana and PCP when Lance Cpl. Doug Sarvis attempted to stop him for not wearing a seat belt about 6 p.m. Sept. 14, 2013 at U.S. 501 and Cultra Road.
“I don’t know what happened. I blacked out. I lost sense of where I was at and what I was doing,” Cochran told James during Monday’s hearing. “The drugs I was on was making me see stuff. . . . I don’t know what happened. I reached out the window and I started shooting at them.”
James ordered the sentences to run concurrently and Cochran must serve at least 85 percent of the 25-year sentence on the attempted murder charge before he is eligible for parole.
“This has got to stop,” James said of violent crimes committed where the person admits to drug use. “Something as simple as a seat belt . . . [police officers] sign up for this, but they don’t sign up expecting something like this to happen. [Trooper Doug Sarvis’] life is not going to be the same.”
A passenger in the vehicle, Shannon Marie Keiser, 34, of Conway remains jailed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center on a pending charge of obstructing justice in connection with the incident.
Brad Richardson, a senior 15th Circuit solicitor, said the trooper was at the stop light and saw that Cochran, who was driving a Buick SUV, was not wearing a seat belt and attempted to stop him. Cochran refused to stop.
A chase by troopers and Horry County police reached speeds up to 130 miles per hour as the vehicles continued down U.S. 501 to Enoch Road to S.C. 319 before Cochran turned onto S.C. 22 and bumped the guardrail with his vehicle, Richardson said.
Cochran also avoided stop sticks used to deflate the vehicle’s tires during the chase, Richardson said. When the vehicle hit the guardrail, Cochran leaned out the driver’s window and fired three gunshots at Sarvis’ vehicle.
In the dashcam video, two of the gunshots can be seen striking the 2009 Dodge Charger’s windshield and one bullet was found lodged in the steering column of the police car, Richardson said.
Police continued to chase Cochran, who stopped on the side of S.C. 22 and ran from the vehicle into a wooded area, exchanging gunfire with police. He hid until about midnight when he was taken into custody, armed with a .45-caliber handgun, Richardson said.
“I lost count how many gunshots were fired. It’s amazing no one was hit,” Richardson said during Monday’s hearing. “All this came from a seat belt violation. . . . I can’t imagine something scarier for the officer.”
Cochran’s attorney, Eric Fox, said he spoke to his client about pleading guilty to the charges. At the time of the incident, Cochran was hallucinating from the drug use, he said.
“It does not make sense. He does not have a history of this,” Fox said.
Cochran told the officers that he did not intend to hurt anyone that day, but he accepts responsibility of shooting at police and wants to put the incident behind him.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. It wasn’t thought about. It just happened,” Cochran said. “I’m glad nobody got hurt and nobody hurt me. I did it and at the time I didn’t grasp what I was doing.”
“I want to tell the victims I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt nobody,” Cochran said.
A SLED records check showed that Cochran was charged on May 14, 2013, by Myrtle Beach police with shoplifting less than $2,000. He pleaded guilty on May 22, 2013, and was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
In January 2013, Horry County police charged Cochran with two counts of petty larceny and one count of assault on a police officer while resisting arrest. In March, Cochran pleaded guilty to petty larceny and was sentenced to time served.
In March 2012, Cochran was convicted of third-degree assault and battery and ordered to serve 30 days in jail, according to records.
Records also show that Keiser was charged on Oct. 8, 2012, with resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, shoplifting under $2,000, contempt of court and failure to appear, according to records. On June 13, 2013, she was charged with forgery with a value more than $10,000, financial transaction card fraud and two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses.
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