Man sentenced to 11 Years for Attempted Murder

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins states that 50-year-old Paul Eugene Good pled guilty on Oct. 5, 2017, to attempted murder, possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and pointing or presenting a firearm. The Honorable Letitia H. Verdin sentenced Good to 11 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Evidence presented at the hearing by Assistant Solicitor Allen Fretwell established that Good and the victim, Casey Patton, were at a mutual friend’s home on Lake El Jema Drive in Piedmont on Dec. 10, 2015, to do some plumbing work for the homeowner. While the two were in the crawlspace under the house, Good discharged a firearm while Patton’s back was turned. After Good assured Patton the discharge was accidental, the two continued working in a small utility room inside the garage. Patton entered the room, but turned around quickly when he heard Good shut the door. Good then locked the door and pulled out the revolver he had fired earlier. Patton, a former Marine, instinctively rushed Good and forced his arm into the air before the weapon discharged for a second time. The two struggled over the gun and fell to the ground, where Patton was able to get both hands on the gun. At this point, Good pulled a fillet knife out of a sheath on his belt and repeatedly stabbed Patton. Patton was somehow able to wrestle both weapons away from Good and fled across the street to a neighbor’s house for assistance. Police arrived and took Good into custody while Patton was transported to the emergency room. Good told police he had used methamphetamine earlier in the day and stabbed Patton because he believed him to be the “front man” for a group of people who were trying to kill him.