Two men accused of gunning down a 34-year-old Loris man during a home invasion nearly three years ago are set to stand trial together this week in Horry County, after a judge rejected defense efforts to separate their cases. Franklin Vereen-Price, 27, of Little River, and Sean Page Jr., 27, of Conway, are charged with murder, first-degree burglary and criminal conspiracy in the December 15, 2023 killing of Ron Dale Riggins inside his home on Kingcrest Drive.
Prosecutors say the two men planned and carried out a robbery at Riggins’ home, and that Page shot Riggins several times with a handgun, according to police. As reported by The Post and Courier, officers arrived at the home at 11:12 p.m. that night and found Riggins lying on his back with several gunshot wounds and no pulse, per the police report. A witness had identified Riggins’ location to officers, and another witness placed Vereen-Price at the scene before the shooting occurred, according to police.
Riggins, identified as being of Loris, was survived by his partner, four children and his mother, according to Westside Funeral Home. Funeral services were held in Loris at the Kingston Lake Building before he was buried at Flag Patch Cemetery. The home and funeral were both in Loris. Horry County, with more than 413,000 residents, faces different public safety and infrastructure realities than its coastal resort communities, per a Tidelands Health community health needs report.
Phone Records Trace a Path From Georgetown County
Investigators say cell phone data will form the backbone of the state's case. Page's phone allegedly placed him traveling from Georgetown County to Kingcrest Drive and put him in the area immediately before and after the shooting, according to authorities. The same evidence, the article notes, shows Page communicated with Vereen-Price on the night of the shooting, and police say Vereen-Price made a call from Page's phone immediately after Riggins was killed.
Police say Page's phone was used three more times a few hours later to communicate with an associate of Vereen-Price. Investigators also recovered a phone allegedly belonging to Vereen-Price at the home, and that device reportedly revealed how the two men allegedly planned the robbery, according to investigators. Vereen-Price fled the area after the shooting, per a witness account cited in the case.
Judge Rejects Bid to Try the Men Separately
Defense attorney Ralph Wilson Jr. filed a motion asking that Page and Vereen-Price be tried separately, arguing that one co-defendant's testimony could incriminate the other. Wilson also said the co-defendants have a right to testify and that the state may present their criminal histories to the jury. Assistant Solicitor Lauree Richardson, of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office under Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, rejected the argument for severance, telling the court that co-defendants possibly accusing each other is an insufficient reason to split the trial.
Richardson argued a joint trial would spare witnesses from having to testify twice, noting that some witnesses have already moved residences because of threats and were afraid for their lives. Circuit Judge Alex Hyman denied the defense motion, questioning how holding two separate trials would actually make a difference, and pointed out that the state could call one co-defendant as a witness against the other even if the men were tried apart. That legal posture tracks with how South Carolina courts generally handle these disputes: judges retain broad discretion over severance motions, and joint trials are favored when co-defendants are charged with the same course of conduct unless a defendant can show specific, compelling prejudice, according to Bannister Wyatt & Stalvey.
Prosecutors Point to a Pattern of Armed Robbery
During pre-trial arguments, Richardson referred to the co-defendants as “known bank robbers,” a label rooted in their history. Richardson said Vereen-Price and Page previously pleaded guilty to attempted robbery about four years before the deadly shooting. Richardson also pointed to the defendants’ prior criminal histories.
The charges the men now face carry severe mandatory penalties under South Carolina law. Both defendants face up to life in prison on the murder charge, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years, according to Jack Swerling Law. The first-degree burglary charge alone carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years up to life when committed with aggravating factors like being armed, per South Carolina Code § 16-11-311, as detailed by the Law Office of Charles T. Brooks III. The conspiracy charge adds a potential five more years or a $5,000 fine, under state law describing conspiracy as two or more people combining to accomplish an unlawful objective.
A County Grappling With Violent Crime Numbers
The case is unfolding in Horry County, South Carolina's fourth-largest county by population. Local law enforcement agencies have cooperated in the investigation.
The article also discusses relationships between murder victims and killers and the use of firearms.
The joint trial of Vereen-Price and Page is expected to last the entire week, with prosecutors planning to present the same evidence against each defendant. For Riggins' family, the proceedings bring the case before a jury nearly three years after officers found him dead inside his own home.
