by JENN WOOD
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Before Morris Laytrell Dorch was accused of repeatedly shooting at an Aiken County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) deputy last week, South Carolina’s justice system had already convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and attempted murder.
The 39-year-old Aiken native received fifteen year sentences for each offense – sentences which ran concurrently.
By August 2025, Dorch’s criminal history recorded his entry into a community supervision program. Fourteen months later, authorities say he was carrying an AR-style firearm when a late-night traffic stop ended with deputy Preston Metts severely wounded.
For Aiken County sheriff Marty Sawyer, his concern extends well beyond the circumstances of last week’s shooting of Metts… and into a “justice” system that continues to show unconscionable leniency toward violent offenders.
“He should be in prison,” Sawyer said during a press conference last Friday (October 23, 2026), reprising a refrain heard far too often in South Carolina.
The sheriff urged reporters to examine Dorch’s history – which we did.
Records reviewed by FITSNews documented nearly two decades of Dorch’s encounters with the criminal justice system — including suspended sentences, reduced charges, dismissed weapons cases and the two violent felony convictions that preceded his return to the community.
Those records deserve scrutiny as Metts faces additional surgeries and a long recovery.
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‘STAY IN THE FIGHT’
At approximately 11:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Metts stopped a vehicle on Shiloh Heights Road, Sawyer said.
A passenger ran into the woods. Metts followed.
According to a press release (.pdf) from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the passenger shot Metts several times with an AR-style firearm. Metts returned fire, but the suspect escaped. Investigators recovered an AR-style firearm at the scene.
“Even after being shot, the deputy was able to stay in the fight and return fire,” Sawyer said.
Metts called for assistance and was taken to a medical facility. Sawyer went to the hospital while other members of his agency organized a search.
By Friday, Metts — who joined the sheriff’s office in February 2023 — had undergone two successful surgeries. More were expected, Sawyer said.
Authorities apprehended Dorch in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday morning. SLED said he had a gunshot wound to his foot.
The career criminal was charged with attempted murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
That last charge drew particular emphasis from Sawyer.
“Convicted felon already,” he said.
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THE RECORD BEFORE THE SHOOTING
Aiken County court records (.pdf) showed Dorch’s involvement with the system began years before the convictions for manslaughter and attempted murder.
In December 2006, he pleaded guilty to a weapons offense involving a stolen pistol and possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine or cocaine base. Court entries described suspended three-year sentences and two years of probation.
Other charges were dropped. The records later included revocation notations, and SLED recorded his receipt into state corrections in January 2010 on the drug and weapons offenses.
In July 2012, Dorch pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and battery after initially facing assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
His sentence? Time served and court costs.
The accompanying charge of possessing a weapon during a violent crime was dismissed without indictment.
Dorch also faced an earlier, separate murder prosecution. That charge and its accompanying weapons charge were dismissed without indictment in January 2010. The records reviewed did not explain those dismissals, and neither charge resulted in a conviction.
A later homicide case had a different outcome…
On September 8, 2014, Dorch pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, reduced from murder, and attempted murder in cases arising from arrests in December 2012. Then-circuit court judge D. Garrison Hill imposed a 15-year prison sentence on each count, with credit for time served. The attempted-murder sentence ran concurrently with the manslaughter sentence.
Prosecutors dropped the accompanying weapons charge. SLED’s history also recorded a separate weapons conviction that same day carrying a concurrent five-year sentence.
By August 29, 2025, the SLED report recorded Dorch’s entry into a community supervision program associated with the manslaughter and attempted-murder cases. The available records did not establish his exact prison release date, how his sentence was calculated or whether he remained under supervision at the time deputy Metts was shot.
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RELATED | Deadly ‘Catch and Release’ Alive and Well in South Carolina
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‘OUT OF OUR HANDS’
Sawyer’s frustration was unmistakable.
“Most of the people we deal with (on) violent crimes and violent situations are repeat offenders that shouldn’t be on the streets,” he said.
Deputies make arrests, Sawyer explained. What happens afterward is largely beyond their control.
“Once the arrest is made, it’s out of our hands,” he said. “It’s out of our control.”
Sawyer’s frustration is familiar to readers of this outlet.
In July, FITSNews examined the record of Ismael Jerrod Clark, whose criminal history preceded a fatal encounter with deputies at a Summerville convenience store. That report raised questions about reduced and suspended sentences, release decisions and the public safety consequences of South Carolina’s approach to repeat offenders.
Dorch’s case warrants the same examination: Why was his murder charge reduced to manslaughter? What supported the decision to run the sentences concurrently? What did corrections officials calculate he had served, and what conditions governed his return to the community?
Dorch is presumed innocent of the new charges unless and until proven guilty. His prior convictions, however, are part of an established record — one the public is entitled to examine alongside the decisions that followed.
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THE COST…
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SLED also charged Teondra Coleman, 32, with misprision of a felony and failure to stop for blue lights. She was the driver of the vehicle carrying Dorch. Leviel Priester, 41, was charged with accessory after the fact.
The S.C. second circuit solicitor’s office will prosecute the case. SLED’s investigation remains ongoing.
Sawyer said his office would conduct an internal affairs investigation, as it does in every deputy-involved shooting. He defended Metts’ actions and said the agency had found no wrongdoing by the deputy.
While those reviews proceed, the consequences for Metts and his family are already clear.
Two surgeries had been completed by Friday. More were ahead.
South Carolina’s judges, prosecutors and corrections officials should be prepared to explain the decisions documented in Dorch’s record.
Metts and his family are already living with what authorities say happened next.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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SOUND OFF…
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