CONWAY AREA, SC (WBTW) – Two people have been arrested in connection with a deadly bingo hall shooting in Horry County.
Derrick Rivera, 29, of Georgetown, and Bradford Britton, 40, also of Georgetown, have been arrested in the case, according to Mikayla Moskov, with the Horry County Police Department.
According to newly released arrest warrants, Rivera “did enter the Waccamaw Bingo located at 4011 Belle Terre Blvd in the Myrtle Beach section of Horry County while armed with a handgun and robbed the business. During the course of the robbery, the defendant did shoot two victims with malice and aforethought causing their deaths.”
The warrants also detail how police believe Britton, “did commit the offense of armed robbery with a codefendant. During the commission of the robbery, two victims were shot and killed with malice aforethought.”
Rivera is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Britton is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of armed robbery. He was also wanted on a fugitive warrant out of Texas for failure to appear on a narcotics charge.
Both men waived their rights to be present for an initial bond hearing in court on Thursday since bond must be set by the Circuit Court. Judge William Hutson referred the murder charges up to Circuit Court for bond.
Rivera has a lengthy arrest record dating back to 2006 with the most recent charges in May for attempted murder. Download SLED arrest record.
The incident happened at Waccamaw Bingo, along Belle Terre Boulevard off of Highway 501 in the Forestbrook area, around 9:30 p.m. Friday night.
The Horry County Coroner’s Office identified the two victims in the shooting as Stephen “Steve” Johnson, Sr., 73, and Stephen “Sparky” Johnson Jr., 46. The two men were father and son and from Sumter. The pair owned the bingo hall.
A candlelight vigil was held on Monday night for the victims.
Steve Johnson Sr.’s brother and other friends said Steve and Sparky made the bingo parlor a true family-owned and family-oriented place where the community could come together.
“We had so much fun working here,” said John Reichardt, who worked alongside the men calling bingo numbers for nearly 30 years. “I mean, they were good people. They’d do anything for you.”
