Murder Suspects Await Extradition

Three fugitives suspected in the murder of Easley resident Sean Timothy Dinneen are now awaiting extradition from the Buncombe County, N.C., Detention Center back to South Carolina.

Tavish Yeargin, Kayla Williams and Nyia Utsey have each awaited bond and extradition hearings since they were apprehended by U.S. Marshals at a Sleep Inn hotel near Asheville, N.C., last week.

"The last we heard they're supposed to appear in court on Oct. 3," Asst. Pickens County Sheriff Tim Morgan said. "I don't anticipate anything to happen before then."

The three suspects had been on the run since Saturday, Sept. 17, when deputies said Yeargin shot Dinneen in a parking lot outside Crosswell First Baptist Church. Deputies found Dinneen face-down in the church parking lot with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Deputies found Dinneen's car last on Sept. 20 in Greenville, but did not catch up with Yeargin and his accomplices until Sept. 21.

Yeargin was caught on video robbing a BB&T Bank in Spartanburg  Sept. 21. A report from the U.S. Marshals service said authorities received a tip that led them to the hotel where the three fugitives were staying in North Carolina.

U.S. Marshals said Yeargin was staying in a separate room with an unidentified woman and Utsey and Williams were together in a second room. 

Morgan said the motive for the killing is still unknown. Deputies await the fugitives' extradition from North Carolina before continuing their investigation.

Yeargin is the primary suspect in Dinneen's death and has been charged with murder and grand larceny. Williams and Utsey also have been charged with murder and grand larceny.