Police: Known Gang Members Arrested In Columbia Bakery Killing

Story by Shireese Bell 

Columbia Police arrested three people in connection with the shooting death of woman at a local bakery last week.

Troy Christopher Stevenson and Lorenzo Bernard Young, both 18 years old, are charged with murder, attempted armed robbery, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

A 16-year-old juvenile is charged with murder, attempted armed robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy. The teen’s name has not been released.

Investigators say the teens tried to rob a bakery located at 93 Tommy Circle on July 1.

City police think the bakery was picked at random after the suspects’ original target business was closed, according to a release.

Kelly L. Hunnewell, 33, was baking when Stevenson and Young entered the store around 3:30 a.m., police said. The 16-year-old stood watch outside.

Police say a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming and gunshots being fired around the same time the suspects were in the bakery. 

Surveillance video released last week showed the three leaving the bakery a few minutes later. 

Hunnewell was found dead inside the bakery after police were notified by a neighbor.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said an autopsy showed Hunnewell died from complications of a gunshot wound to the upper body.

“This is a despicable, heinous crime,” Interim Police Chief Ruben Santiago said in a release. “Ms. Hunnewell was working early that morning to earn a living.”

“She was raising four children on her own and worked while we slept so she could take care of them. Now her three girls and a son are left thinking about what they are going to do without their mother.”

The suspects were not able to steal any money from the business since it’s not a retail store, according to the department. The business provides goods to a local bakery.

Both Stevenson and Young are documented gang members police said. The department did not release the name of the gang.

Investigators do not have any information to suggest that the shooting was gang-motivated, according to the department.

View video of Kelly L. Hunnewell's co-workers at a news conference Monday.