Columbia, SC (Paul Kirby) – Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference Tuesday that the suspect who one of his deputies shot and killed in Lexington County this morning had a long record of criminal offenses. Lott said that Zachary Alexander Kinard was shot after he led several agencies on a long car chase and then pointed a gun at his deputy when he ran out of running room near Pelion. Lott said that Kinard was, “a one-man crime wave.”
The whole incident started in the Town of Lexington where an officer saw Kinard breaking into cars. He then fled in a vehicle that was reported stolen. Eventually Kinard led multiple agencies on a pursuit through two counties. The pursuit finally ended on a dead-end road near Pelion when the suspect had to stop because he ran out of road. A Richland County Deputy was the unit chasing Kinard at this point. That deputy shouted at Kinard and gave him verbal commands. Kinard did not comply and pointed a gun at him. The deputy then fired his pistol multiple times, fatally wounding Kinard. No one has said where Kinard was from to explain how he ended up in the Pelion area.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon requested SLED take the lead in the investigation into the incident. Sheriff Leon Lott said this incident happened when only law enforcement officers and bad guys are out.
Lexington County deputies secured the scene Wednesday morning and waited for the arrival of the coroner and SLED agents. It may be some time before their report is ready for release.
