South Carolina murder suspects apprehended in Frederick County after I-81 chase

Thomas Rhoads, 39, William Christopher Flynn, 31 and Dominick Michael Rhoads, 19, with murder in the shooting deaths of Daquavious Antonio Tillison, 24, and Lorenzo Sanchez Hunter, 33. Photo courtesy of Anderson Police Department.

On Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, the Anderson Police Department in South Carolina issued a “Be On the Lookout” for three suspects wanted in connection with a homicide investigation in the city of Anderson. At approximately 1 p.m., a Virginia State Police trooper observed the suspect’s vehicle, a 2014 Ford Fusion, traveling north on Interstate 81 at the 283-mile marker in Shenandoah County. The trooper waited for additional troopers and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect’s vehicle pulled onto the right shoulder and then accelerated at a high rate of speed. A pursuit was initiated.

During the course of the pursuit, the Ford Fusion ended up heading south in the northbound lanes. The driver lost control at the 309 mile-marker in Frederick County and the Fusion ran off the left side of the roadway and went down an embankment, through a fence, and struck a tree. The suspects then fled the vehicle on foot. All three suspects were apprehended a short time later without further incident.

The driver, Frank T. Rhoads, 39, of Anderson, S.C., suffered minor injuries during the incident and was transported to Winchester Medical Center for treatment. Rhoads was then transported to Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center and charged by Virginia State Police with one felony count of eluding police, reckless driving, and for having altered/fictitious license plates on his vehicle.

The two passengers in the Ford, Dominick M. Rhoads, 19, and William C. Flynn, 31, both of Anderson, S.C., were uninjured during the incident.

All three suspects are being held on warrants of extradition out of Anderson, South Carolina. Virginia State Police was assisted by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.