Army specialist fires on would-be robbers in Interstate breakdown (update: convictions)

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First reporting June 4, 2010, updates below.

A family stopped off I-95 near Walterboro due to mechanical issues while driving through South Carolina — while stopped three men then tried to rob said family, only the dad happened to be an Army specialist who fired shots in defense.

Multiple reports abound, but The Post and Courier's seems to be the best.

Update September 5: A year on from the incident two suspects in the case have been found guilty and a case against a third is still pending.

Two Smoaks men were convicted Thursday evening of the attempted armed robbery of stranded motorists along Interstate 95 in June 2010, a confrontation that ended with one of the suspects being gunned down by an Iraq War veteran.

Jurors found Antwan McMillan, 22, and David Jakes, 20, guilty of three counts of attempted armed robbery, possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime and three counts of first-degree assault and battery.

Judge Perry M. Buckner sentenced Jakes to 35 years in prison McMillan to 30 years

"I am pleased that both of these brazen, dangerous criminals have had their careers cut short," said assistant solicitor Amanda Haselden, prosecutor of the case. "They thought two stranded women would be an easy mark, but they didn't bargain on a well-trained and legally-armed serviceman being just out of sight."

On June 3, 2010, an Army specialist, his wife and mother-in-law were traveling in two vehicles south on Interstate 95 when one of the vehicles towing a trailer had mechanical problems. As the veteran freshly back from the Middle East tended to the vehicle, another car containing three men pulled up.

Jakes pointed a gun at the mother-in-law and demanded cash. The soldier popped up from behind the vehicle with a gun. He ordered the suspects to leave several times. As the robber turned to point his gun at the serviceman, the man fired several rounds, striking Jakes three times. McMillan began firing from inside the car. Jakes crawled back to the car and the trio sped off.

The Colleton County Sheriff's Office found Jakes wounded at a local hospital. He was taken into custody after recovering from several gunshot wounds. McMillan and a third suspect, James Davis, 21, were arrested later the same week.

The case against Davis still is pending. 

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