A 31-year-old Greenville man was sentenced to 19 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a string of charges stemming from a violent attack in which he grabbed a woman by the neck and head and dragged her outside a home. Markise Antwan Sullivan entered guilty pleas Tuesday to first-degree domestic violence, second-degree domestic violence, possession of a weapon by a person convicted of a violent crime, exposure of private parts in a lewd and lascivious manner, and resisting arrest.
According to the FOX Carolina report on the case, the attack unfolded on January 6, 2023, when Sullivan followed the victim and a witness into the witness's house. A 911 caller reported a woman screaming for help in the road, and prosecutors with the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office say evidence submitted in the case showed Sullivan standing over the woman with his arms raised. The victim ran toward the witness for help before Sullivan grabbed her by the neck and head and dragged her outside, damaging the witness's porch steps in the process, per the solicitor's office.
Greenville County Sheriff's Office deputies who responded reported seeing injuries on the victim, who complained of head pain. The case also included a weapons charge involving Sullivan's possession of a firearm despite a prior conviction for a violent crime.
How South Carolina's Domestic Violence Statutes Stack Sentences
The case involved the state's tiered domestic violence statute. Under South Carolina Code Section 16-25-20, first-degree domestic violence is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while second-degree domestic violence is treated as a misdemeanor carrying up to three years behind bars and fines between $2,500 and $5,000, according to a legal breakdown from Williams Law. Sullivan also pleaded guilty to weapons and resisting-arrest charges, according to the sentencing report.
Court records reviewed separately show Sullivan had a federal court case dating back to January 2017.
Greenville Leads the State in Domestic Violence Calls
The case adds to a grim statistical backdrop in Greenville County, which reports the highest number of domestic violence victims in South Carolina. Local law enforcement responds to roughly 4,200 domestic violence calls a year — about 11.5 calls a day — according to data from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division cited by the advocacy group Safe Harbor.
The state's broader numbers are similarly stark. An October 2025 Violence Policy Center report found South Carolina's rate of women killed by men in 2023 stood at 1.8 per 100,000, well above the national average of 1.4 per 100,000, as reported by WLTX. South Carolina has landed among the top 10 states nationally for female homicide victimization by men in 23 of the past 25 years, the outlet reported, citing data from the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault showing firearms were used in more than 78 percent of the state's female intimate partner homicides in 2023 — a factor advocacy groups say raises a victim's homicide risk fivefold.
New Resources and a Prosecution Team in Transition
Sullivan's sentencing also lands as Greenville's support network for domestic violence survivors expands. On August 21, Safe Harbor held a ribbon-cutting for its new 46,000-square-foot campus at the redeveloped Gordon Street Mill, consolidating emergency shelter, therapy, and housing assistance into a single site with capacity for 65 beds, according to the Upstate Business Journal.
The case was prosecuted by the 13th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. Statewide, SCCADVASA is currently working to build partnerships with law enforcement, per WLTX.
Sullivan's case is one of several recent domestic violence prosecutions across the Upstate. Hoodline previously reported on a Spartanburg man's 10-year sentence for a strangulation case.
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