Jacquese Anderson-Savage pled guilty to Murder on Tuesday afternoon at the Oconee County Courthouse in Walhalla rather than face a trial for the 2024 murder of the victim Garrett White that occurred in Seneca at the Seneca Gardens Apartment complex on January 17, 2024, announced Solicitor Micah E. Black.
Judge R. Scott Sprouse sentenced Anderson-Savage to 45 years on Tuesday afternoon to the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Murder is classified as both violent and a “most serious” offense, and by statute, Anderson Savage must serve the entire 45-year sentence day-for-day before he is to be released.
On January 17, 2024, Seneca City Officers responded to the Seneca Gardens apartment complex on Laing Court at roughly 9:52 PM concerning a shooting in the parking lot. Officers found the victim deceased on scene with a gunshot wound to his upper back. Officers were able to speak with the victim’s girlfriend on scene, who was present during the shooting, and officers recovered a surveillance video from a neighbor to develop a profile of the suspect. Forensics officers recovered a spent shell casing at the crime scene that was discharged from a semiautomatic firearm, later proving to be a key piece of evidence in the investigation.
Several hours later, at 2:00 AM Seneca City Officers responded to a suspicious person call at a residence on Fox Creek Court, which is located beside the Seneca Gardens apartment complex. The caller reported that a suspicious individual knocked on their door and requested to use their telephone or their Wi-Fi password. This individual was described to dispatchers as wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt (despite temperatures being roughly 28 degrees at time), and the individual appearing to have leaves and brush in his hair and scratches on his body. Officers responded and they found Anderson-Savage hiding underneath a vehicle parked on the street at the residence where he was ultimately detained. Canine Officer Austin Barnum then deployed K9 Bea, and she tracked a scent from where the defendant was detained on Fox Creek Court back to Seneca Gardens apartment complex where the shooting occurred roughly 4 hours earlier.
The next morning, day shift officers from Seneca PD responded back to the crime scene to further search the woods looking for any additional evidence, and officer Michael Durham found discarded clothing that matched the clothing identified as being worn from the shooter. In addition, a semiautomatic firearm was recovered beside the clothing in the woods. Those items were collected and sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED’s) Forensic Laboratory for testing. DNA results confirmed the clothing belonged to Anderson-Savage. Furthermore, the swabs taken from the firearm conclusively contained the defendant’s DNA. Finally, the shell casing recovered from the crime scene, matched the firearm recovered in the woods, determining that the recovered firearm was the murder weapon.
Solicitor Micah Black prosecuted the case for the State with assistance from Victim Advocate Brandi Davis and Investigator Jessica Sanders with the 10th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Dick Warder, of the Greenville bar represented the defendant. Multiple officers with the Seneca Police Department played a pivotal role in the investigation and prosecution of the case including lead investigator Jason Sutherland, Investigator Mike Teramano, and Investigator Joe Sorenson. Solicitor Micah Black commended the team effort displayed by his office and the Seneca Police Department in ensuring justice was attained in this case for the White family. “No amount of prison time will ever fill the void from the loss that the White family has experienced, but having witnessed the forgiveness they displayed publicly in court gives me hope that they will be able to move forward and have closure from this tragedy. However, my office will continue to prosecute the most heinous and violent criminals for their crimes, and we will work closely with law enforcement to ensure these violent offenders are removed from our community.”