A 17-year-old Marlboro County murder suspect was denied bond Aug. 24 after a judge determined that he was a flight risk.

Judge Howard King ruled that Marcus Townsend, of 316 Ayers Street in Bennettsville, was a danger to the community. Townsend returned to the Marlboro County Detention Center where he will be held for at least 270 days.

If Townsend is not tried during that time frame the judge will revisit the issue of bond.

Townsend and two other suspects are charged with the death of 44-year-old Samer Hussein after Hussein was shot and robbed at a Bennettsville convenience store on May 10.

Townsend has been charged with murder, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

In the police report, a witness said that four male subjects entered the Quick Stop Convenience Mart at 157 Marshall Street in Bennettsville at 11:30 a.m.

The witness said that all four men wore dark clothing and bandannas and tried to rob Hussein.

Hussein was then shot and the four men took $50 from the store.

Hussein received a gun shot woumd in the upper chest area and was taken to Marlboro Park Hospital for treatment where he later died.

During the initial investigation, Bennettsville police established a perimeter around the scene of the crime and used bloodhounds to track the four suspects before the scene was turned over to criminal investigators.

Residents near the store said that Hussein only worked in the store for two weeks and that his brother owned the store.

Townsend’s co-defendant, 18-year-old Rashawn Baskins was released on bond. Bond was previously denied for 20-year-old Kadeem Ocean who was also arrested for the robbery.

The fourth suspect, a 15-year-old boy who was charged in the case remains at the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.