Man convicted of Carjacking

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins announces that 49-year-old Joseph Chappell was convicted on April 11, 2018, by a Greenville County jury of carjacking without great bodily harm, and sentenced to 15 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections by the Honorable Judge Roger L. Couch. He will have to serve at least 85% of the 15 year sentence before he becomes eligible for parole. Evidence presented at the trial by Assistant Solicitor Brann Fowler established that on March 5, 2017, Chappell was offered a ride by the victim, who Chappell then beat with a metal object striking him in the head. Chappell then threw the victim from his vehicle leaving him stranded on the road without his crutches or knee brace. A deputy with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office observed the injured victim and began talking with him. While talking with the deputy, the victim saw Chappell drive past them in the stolen vehicle. The deputy pursued and apprehended Chappell a short distance away.