Three men to stand trial in death of 43-year-old

Three men are standing trial starting Monday for the attempted robbery that led to the death of a 43-year-old man.

On Jun 6, 2019, Bruce Campbell was shot to death in a vehicle outside his Fountain Inn home.

Five years later, Tori Staton, 35, Miguel Otero, 22, and Trico Anthony Ladson, 30, will now stand trial in connection to Campbell’s death.

Staton, Otero and Ladson were charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Ladson and Otero will also be tried for attempted armed robbery/conspiracy.

According to warrants provided by the Greenville Clerk of Court Office, Ladson was the person who shot Campbell in the torso area, killing him.

On Jan. 9, 2020, officers with the Fountain Inn Police Department arrested Ladson.

New York Homeland Security arrested Staton in July 2020 and Otero on March 25, 2022.

The three will be tried together, with the prosecution led by Solicitors’ attorneys Jesse Williams and Jonathan Gregory.

Ladson is represented by Jeremy Crane of the Crane Law Firm in Greenville; Otero is represented by Chris Jones of the Jones Attorney at Law Firm in Greenville and Staton is represented by Rich Marsh of the Greenville County Public Defender’s Office.

In 2013, Ladson was convicted of attempted armed robbery, criminal conspiracy, and third-degree assault and battery by a mob. He was on supervised probation at the time of the murder.

The men’s trial was postponed twice. It was supposed to begin in August 2023 and then in May.

The trial was delayed after the defense council alleged the prosecution committed a discovery violation.

A discovery violation occurs when the prosecution impedes the defense’s access to evidence.

According to the defense, back in August of last year, the prosecution waited until two weeks before the trial began to send 45 items of evidence.

One of the items was documents explaining that the prosecution talked with a witness of the murder. The witness ended up being in the same jail as Ladson.

According to the document, the witness claimed that while in jail, Ladson admitted to him that he shot Campbell and mentioned the motive behind it.

According to court documents signed on July 5, 2023, the state will seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Ladson.