This is one of those cases where vengeance lives on, even after the criminal has spent the last six years in prison. Michael James Young Jr., a 25-year-old Orangeburg citizen, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after injuring his (at the time) estranged wife and killing her father.
Before the shooting rampage, Young followed his 21-year-old girlfriend, Shaunna Bell, into her workplace. The woman, alarmed at Young’s behavior, called her father. After getting off the phone, Bell walked to the parking-lot where Young followed her.
When Bell’s father arrived, Young shot him multiple times. He then shot Bell twice in the back. Despite Young making a public apology to the Bell family in 2015, just recently he reopened the can of worms.
While in the maximum security prison he was sentenced to, Young apparently had easy access to telephones and even computers. Using these opportunities, he conspired with two friends – 35-year-old Vance “Dank” Volious Jr. and 18-year-old Tyrell Fears – in a scheme to commit yet another murder.
This time, he planned to kill his now ex-wife, Bell, by ordering a mail bomb off the dark web via his co-conspirators and having it sent to her.
The bomb, designed to explode upon opening, never reached its destination (thankfully).
“A package containing shipping labels with Young’s ex-wife’s name and address was delivered to Volious’ house on South Lake Road. Volious gave the labels to Fears. At the time, the FBI was keeping track of Fears, Volious and V.M., court records indicate. On June 6, FBI phone monitors recorded nine telephone calls between Young and Volious.”
It’s assumed that the package was intercepted on June 7th, when Fears dropped the package off at the post office. All involved in the murder-plot were arrested and charged – and Young now awaits additional charges.
Young’s motive this time: he didn’t want Bell to be a witness against him if he were to win a new trial.