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A Charleston County jury convicted Tyler Deshayne Heyward of murder and a weapons charge in February 2026, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the random shooting death of Wesley "Wes" Francis in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

Francis, 34, was the lead server at The Tempest, a seafood restaurant on North Market Street. Originally from the James Island area, he had lived in Charleston since 2020. He and chef Heyden Riley co-founded Lowcountry Kine, a Hawaiian food pop-up held Sunday nights at a bar on the East Side. General manager Nic Newton said guests asked for Francis by name in reservation notes. Heyward, 26 at the time of the shooting, lived in North Charleston. The men did not know each other, according to the arrest affidavit, and news accounts described the shooting as random.

Shortly after 5 a.m. on Friday, November 10, 2023, Francis stopped at the Circle K at 320 Meeting Street, at Meeting and Calhoun streets across from Marion Square, after leaving a friend's house on the peninsula. He bought cigarettes. Surveillance video showed a man leave a black Nissan Altima, approach Francis as he returned to his vehicle and open fire without any argument or confrontation. Eighteen rounds were fired, and 16 struck Francis. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Charleston County Coroner Bobbi O'Neal identified him publicly on November 12, 2023, and said he died from a gunshot wound.

Charleston Police Department detectives collected 9mm shell casings and used footage from cameras across the city and vehicle tag readers to follow the Altima from the scene. The car belonged to the mother of Heyward's girlfriend. Readers traced it to a home in Hollywood, South Carolina, where officers recovered a stolen 9mm handgun. Trial evidence included Heyward's DNA on the gun. He was arrested late on November 11, 2023, and charged with murder.

Two detectives who introduced themselves as Mike and Justin interviewed Heyward at the police department after his arrest. They read him his rights, told him he was under arrest for murder and said his car had appeared on multiple license plate readers. Heyward said he did not know why he was there. He acknowledged taking his girlfriend's mother's Nissan after an argument that night, driving to his house and stopping for gas. He denied being the person in the surveillance images and a still photograph, said the picture looked nothing like him and repeatedly said it was not him. He denied the shooting throughout the interview and was taken to jail afterward. Prosecutors later said he told detectives he had been angry that morning and upset about possible infidelity.

Heyward, by then 28, was convicted in February 2026. The verdict was publicly reported on February 12 and February 13, 2026. Circuit Judge Jennifer McCoy sentenced him on February 13, 2026. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson's office prosecuted the case. Wilson said McCoy recognized the urgency in keeping Heyward off the street forever.

Court-ordered mental evaluations showed Heyward had a documented history of mental illness, including several hospitalizations, and indicated marijuana use may have worsened his condition. Prosecutors said that did not excuse the killing. Circuit Defender Cameron Blazer called the case profoundly sad and upsetting. Heyward is serving the life sentence. No appeal had been reported as of the most recent coverage.

The video is about 92 minutes of police interview-room footage. It presents the interview itself, without narration or a presenter.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.