A Richland County man will spend the next 25 years behind bars for beating his roommate to death inside their Olympia Mill Village home nearly two years ago. Raymond Jolly, 32, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the November 2024 killing of Joey Roberts, and a judge handed down the maximum consequence prosecutors sought.
According to the 5th Circuit Solicitor's Office, the Honorable Will Wheeler sentenced Jolly to 25 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections facility. Senior Assistant Solicitor Dale Scott led the prosecution, the solicitor's office said. There is a discrepancy over the exact date of Jolly's guilty plea: the solicitor's office says he entered his plea on October 20, while WACH reported the plea came a day earlier, on October 19.
Deputies Found Roberts Covered in Blood
The case began on November 23, 2024, when Richland County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to a complaint about a man acting erratically and causing several disturbances in Olympia Mill Village, per the solicitor's office. A witness identified the suspect as Jolly and directed deputies to the home he shared with his roommate, Roberts.
Deputies knocked on the home's doors and windows but got no response, the solicitor's office said. They then saw Roberts lying on his back and covered in blood. Roberts later succumbed to injuries sustained from blunt-force trauma to the head, the same account states, and investigators say they found Roberts' blood on Jolly's clothing.
A Chase Through Backyards Ended at a Shed Roof
Jolly did not go quietly. Per the solicitor's office, deputies found him in the backyard of a home in Olympia Mill Village after he ran through backyards and jumped fences trying to get away. Deputies detained him after he jumped off a shed roof and injured himself in the process, according to the same source.
WACH's earlier reporting on the case added that EMS took Roberts to a hospital following the assault. He did not survive his injuries, dying weeks later on December 15, 2024, according to WACH. Jolly was originally charged with attempted murder, but that charge was upgraded to murder after Roberts died, the station reported at the time.
From Murder Charge to Manslaughter Plea
Nearly two years after the fatal beating, Jolly's case concluded with a voluntary manslaughter plea rather than a murder conviction. The solicitor's office confirmed the plea and the resulting 25-year sentence, closing out a case that began with deputies responding to reports of a disturbed man in a quiet Columbia neighborhood and ended with a guilty plea for killing the roommate who lived under the same roof.
