Brother of Univ. of SC football player gets life for killing
By PAGE IVEY - Associated Press Writer

NEWBERRY, S.C. --
The brother of a University of South Carolina football player was on Friday sentenced to life in prison for killing a woman in Newberry County during a daylong crime spree.

Demetrius Pepper, 25, admitted that he shot Ellie Halfacre at her Newberry home and took her car last spring. He pleaded guilty to murder and other charges, and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

"For whatever it's worth, the things that happened that day were not planned," Pepper said to Halfacre's family. "If I could take it back I would."

Pepper is the brother of Nathan Pepper, who was a starting defensive lineman for the Gamecocks before a knee injury in the third game ended his season.

According to testimony, Pepper said he drove to Williams-Brice Stadium to look for his father, who was watching the younger Pepper play in a spring football scrimmage.

Pepper's crime spree started March 31 when police said he shot a co-worker at a Greenville convenience store during an argument.

Pepper then started to drive to Columbia, but his car broke down about 30 miles away in Newberry. Investigators said Pepper forced his way into the home and fatally shot the 60-year-old woman before taking one of the cars.

The car, along with a handgun and undetermined amount of money, were found near the stadium after a report of a suspicious vehicle, police said.