Coroner ‘confident’ body is that of missing constable

A body found in a shallow grave near a cell phone tower is likely that of missing state constable Robert Bailey, said Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten during a 4 p.m. news conference in Charleston.

Wooten said a 100 percent positive identification would have to wait until DNA testing was completed. “I feel confident enough to have you come here today based on what I know to believe that it is him,” she said.

Fingerprints and dental records are often used to identify bodies, but Wooten said getting an autopsy done while evidence from the scene was still fresh was most urgent. An autopsy is planned for Monday morning, she said.

With the aid of cadaver dogs, search crews found the shallow grave Saturday at the base of a cell phone tower near Till Road, just a few miles off of Interstate 26, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said. Investigators had received information that Bailey’s body might be found in the area. Upon arriving at the site, they spotted a area of disturbed pine straw and clods of dirt that appeared to have been smoothed by a shovel, he said.

The discovery appeared to cap a frustrating search that began with a shooting and Bailey’s apparent abduction in Lincolnville on Monday night. Bailey’s kidnappers took pains to hide their trail, authorities have said.

Five people are in custody in connection with Bailey’s disappearance.

Bailey, who was patrolling Lincolnville as a volunteer, had just cleared a traffic stop when he ended up on Greenwood Street. Several shots sounded, then police lost radio contact with Bailey. When help arrived, he was gone. His constable’s cap, two pistols, several shell casings and a large pool of blood were found in the street and the yard of a squat, one-story home at 795 Greenwood St. His cruiser was later found torched about five miles away.

One neighbor told investigators he had looked outside after hearing gunshots and saw a man dragging a police officer away from a Lincolnville patrol car near 795 Greenwood St. The neighbor heard more gunshots and then saw the cruiser and a black Chevrolet speed away. The neighbor told deputies that the black Chevy was always parked at the home and that a man and a woman were living there.

Deputies searched the property and found two pistols, a 9 mm and a .45-caliber. They also found an identification card for 24-year-old Walter Fayall III and a rental agreement signed by his girlfriend, Asia Prioleau, 22, of Hopkins, an arrest affidavit stated.

Fayall was arrested early Wednesday in Charlotte, and he is being held in Florence on an unrelated federal weapons offense. In his motel room in Charlotte, police found a 9 mm clip and .45-caliber ammunition, authorities said.

The next day, investigators arrested two other suspects, also on unrelated charges. Jerome Washington, 25, reportedly was caught burning a stolen car with a police baton inside in Williamsburg County, authorities said. Brian Smalls, 27, was detained on a probation violation.

On Friday, Smalls told investigators he had transported Fayall to Charlotte. What’s more, Fayall reportedly told Smalls during the ride that he had shot and killed Bailey, an arrest affidavit stated. Fayall also reportedly told Smalls that Prioleau was there during the shooting and had helped dispose of the vehicles and the body, the affidavit stated. She is accused of driving the black Chevy, which had Bailey’s body in the trunk, authorities said.

Washington’s girlfriend, Asia O’Neill, 19, of St. Stephen, also was drawn into the case. She is accused of lying to investigators on Wednesday by telling them that Priloeau had been with her during the time of the shooting, an affidavit stated.

O’Neill told police Friday that Prioleau admitted to her that she was present at the shooting, produced the gun for Fayall and helped dispose of the body and vehicles, according to arrest records.

Cannon said Saturday that Prioleau told police to look for a grave off Exit 149 on Interstate 26.

Prioleau was charged Saturday with murder and accessory after the fact to murder. Her bail on the accessory charge was set at $500,000 Saturday. Only a circuit judge can set bail for a murder charge, and she remains in the Charleston County jail.

O’Neill is charged with accessory to murder after the fact and obstruction of justice. Her bail was set at $600,000. Smalls also has been charged with accessory to murder after the fact. His bail was set at $500,000.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Capt. John Clark said the suspects are thought to be part of a car-theft ring. A white Chevrolet Caprice was found intact Tuesday or Wednesday in Charleston, Clark said. Police aren’t saying how it is connected to the case, but they think it is the car they were looking for that was originally described as a white Ford Crown Victoria.

Chaplain Rob Dewey with Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy was at the scene Saturday in Cameron and had been in contact with Bailey’s family. Bailey had three children and three grandchildren. They expressed their gratitude to all the people involved in the searches, he said.

“They’re worn out,” Dewey said. “They have said they wanted their father and grandfather brought home, and this looks like the resolution to that.”