Man gets 40 years in prison in North Charleston hotel killing

Staff report

Friday, September 26, 2008

One of four people accused in the murder of a 48-year-old carnival worker inside a North Charleston hotel room was sentenced to 40 years in prison this week.

Shawn Demetrius Phillips was found guilty during a trial in August, but his sentencing was postponed, in part so that officials could pursue his cooperation in the retrial of the case's primary defendant. That cooperation did not materialize, the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office said.

Phillips, 27, was found guilty of murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy for the November 2006 shooting death of Robert Vargo.

Vargo was shot in the head during a low-stakes robbery. As little as $50 was involved, prosecutors said. Sentencing was imposed by Circuit Judge James C. Williams Jr.

Phillips' sister, Octavia Ancrum, complained the sentence was excessive and said the family would pursue an appeal.

Prosecutors plan to retry Phillips' co-defendant, Lennie Franklin Mickey, whose May trial on the same charges ended in a hung jury.

Authorities contend Phillips, Mickey and two women targeted Vargo at the Budget Inn on Fain Street. Vargo had checked in after working a hitch at the Coastal Carolina Fair.