The Jasper County Coroner’s Office has identified the man who was reportedly shot and killed as he attempted to carjack an armed resident near downtown Hardeeville.
Robert Payton, 34, was pronounced dead following the clash in a motel parking lot the night of March 23, according to Jasper County Coroner Jeremiah Vaigneur III. The coroner did not have a hometown on file for the deceased man.
Reached by phone Monday, Hardeeville Chief of Police Sam Woodward said his department had not yet turned the investigation over to the Solicitor’s Office, whose personnel would have the final say in bringing forward charges. But Woodward reaffirmed that he expected the homicide to be ruled as self-defense…