'It was a gun battle': Suspect pleads guilty to double homicide, shootout near Whiskey Road in 2020

Mar. 18—A North Carolina man will spend the rest of his life in prison for his involvement in a 2020 double homicide and shootout involving multiple law enforcement agencies.

Peter Finch Sr., of Cherryville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to 24 charges Thursday morning at the Aiken County Judicial Center.

Judge M. Anderson Griffith sentenced Finch to a total of 60 years for two counts of murder, 30 years for attempted murder and 10 years for each of the 21 counts of assault and battery. All of the sentences will be served consecutively.

Solicitor Bill Weeks, who prosecuted the case, said on the morning of Sept. 12, 2020, the suspect broke into his brother's home, located on Louise Street, while armed with a rifle, according to witnesses.

Finch admitted to shooting his brother, Robert A. Finch, and his brother's girlfriend, Lacy Boyd, in their Graniteville home.

Arrest warrants state Boyd sustained a gunshot to the face and the suspect's brother was shot in the torso.

Responding deputies found the couple unresponsive.

Following the murders, Weeks said a be on the lookout warning was issued for Finch's vehicle. A deputy with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office spotted the vehicle, a 2006 Ford F-350, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on East Pine Log Road near Whiskey Road.

Finch exited his vehicle and began shooting at the deputy, according to Weeks.

Multiple units from the Aiken Department of Public Safety, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Aiken County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene and established a tactical perimeter.

Finch, who was armed with a 9mm handgun and a .223 AR-15-style rifle, continued to fire at several officers while wearing an armored vest. Authorities returned fire, striking the defendant in the leg.

"Ultimately [police] were able to approach him and found him propped against the vehicle with weapons right beside him saying 'shoot me, I want you to kill me,'" Weeks said during the hearing.

Finch was taken to a hospital in Augusta to receive medical treatment. One officer suffered minor injuries from shattered glass, but there were no additional injuries.

Defense makes its case

Although the hearing was held to allow Finch to plead guilty, Finch's attorney, Barry Thompson, gave some insight into the defendant's motive.

Thompson said during the course of his life, Finch was a good provider and protector of his family.

The defendant's daughter was heavily involved in the case and described her father as "a really wonderful, gentle, loving guy who was very nurturing and very involved in both her life and the life of her child, his granddaughter," Thompson said during the hearing.

In trying to understand what happened, Thompson said he contacted one of the victim's relatives.

"Before I could ask her anything further about trying to speak to her about this, she said 'don't feel sorry,' and she's glad he's dead," Thompson said.

The relative stated the male victim had sexually assaulted her when she was young, and prior to the murders, she was contacted by the male victim. She told Thompson she reached out to the defendant because she was scared.

"She said, I'm scared, what do I do?' and [the defendant] told her, 'I'll take care of it,'" Thompson said.

Finch quit his job five days before the murders and traveled from North Carolina to Aiken County.

Thompson said the defendant met with the victim and that is when Finch decided "he was going to take some kind of action."

"He knows I don't agree with what he did, but I understand it," Thompson said.

He added the female victim, his brother's girlfriend, was on her way to aid her boyfriend and was hit in the crossfire. He pointed out there were others in the house that were unharmed and his client did not have the intention of killing anyone but the brother.

Impact on law enforcement

Officers involved in the shootout are still struggling in the aftermath of the shooting, Weeks said.

"There are some that are taking this very hard and had some real problems as far as career choice and their mental health as a result of being shot at by someone who was prepared to kill them all," he said.

Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt and Aiken Department of Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco spoke on behalf of the officers involved during the hearing.

"On the day this occurred, most folks in this courtroom and in this county didn't have to worry about being hurt or anybody attacking them because these folks in uniform," Hunt said. "It was a gun battle. Your honor, I'm on my 40th year in law enforcement, 18 as sheriff, and I've seen just about everything — if there's ever a case that deserves life in prison, it's Mr. Finch. He is a danger to citizens, he is a danger to police officers, and I don't want him getting out and hurting anybody else."

"[East Pine Log Road] is a main thoroughfare through our city, through our county — and only by the grace of God we don't have more people hurt today," Barranco said. "Your honor, there is no doubt there was reckless disregard for safety for only himself, these officers and the community at large — that is not something that's just OK in our community. We ask for the most serious sentence that you can bestow upon him."

Weeks said the quick response by officers protected citizens from being injured in the crossfire.

"I don't know if there was total number of shots counted, but this particular area of our county is highly populated along the perimeter of the road," he said. "Police did a great job of containing it and not allowing citizens on the road to get involved."