(Anderson, SC). Earlier today in Anderson County General Sessions Court the Honorable Lawton McIntosh sentenced brothers Jacob and Oscar Lance to 30 years in prison for the 2015 killing of Todd Cantlay. The brothers pled guilty to charges of Voluntary Manslaughter, First Degree Burglary, and two counts of Third Degree Arson. They received 30 year sentences for the Manslaughter and Burglary charges, and 15 year sentences for both Arson charges, all of which are to be served concurrently. Senior Assistant Solicitor Lauren Davis Price appeared on behalf of the Tenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and attorneys Kurt Tavernier and Lee Cole appeared on behalf of Jacob and Oscar Lance, respectively.
There was evidence that the victim, Todd Cantlay, had called and texted with Jacob Lance prior to the incident date of November 13, 2015, concerning drug sales to his son, and threatened Jacob Lance in phone calls due to the son being “shorted” and paying too much for drugs. Jacob and Oscar Lance went to Todd Cantlay’s home on the incident date, entered uninvited, and struck the victim with a baseball bat several times in the head, which resulted in his death due to blunt force trauma. The Lance brothers then set the body of the victim on fire, postmortem, and stole guitars, an Xbox, a television, and a rifle from the victim’s home, before driving off in the victim’s vehicle. They took the victim’s vehicle to the woods where they attempted to burn it, and where it was later recovered by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Items belonging to the victim were found in Jacob Lance’s vehicle and in Oscar Lance’s home following search warrants executed on their properties. The baseball bat and rifle were also found behind the home of Oscar Lance. Both brothers gave confessions to law enforcement, but each blamed the other for striking the fatal blows.
Following the sentence today Solicitor David Wagner gave the following statement: “In plea Court today, the finger pointing by Jacob and Oscar Lance continued, as neither admitted to being Todd Cantlay’s killer. These brothers will now pay for these heinous crimes they committed together. They are ‘eating from the same bowl’ with identical sentences handed down from the Court. We are pleased with the Court’s sentence today, which reflects the law in South Carolina that says ‘the hand of one is the hand of all’, and which appropriately holds the Lance brothers equally responsible for these acts.”