A Bluffton, S.C., tow truck driver was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Thursday for killing a man during a towing dispute on Christmas Eve 2010.
At the conclusion of a four-day trial, jurors convicted 30-year-old Preston Oates of manslaughter and possession of a firearm during commission of a violent crime for the shooting death of 34-year-old Carlos Olivera, said Daniel Brownstein, spokesman for the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
At about 8:30 p.m. on December 24, 2010, Oates placed a boot on Olivera’s minivan on Live Oak Walk in the Edgefield subdivision in Bluffton. Olivera and his wife and children were visiting his brother, Nelson, and his family.
Both Carlos Olivera and Nelson Olivera pleaded and argued with Oates to remove the boot and let them move the van. During a confrontation, Carlos, showed that he was carrying a handgun, but put it away after his older brother told him that it wasn’t necessary, according to Nelson Olivera’s testimony.
While Nelson Olivera attempted to remove the boot, Oates shot Carlos Olivera six times, Brownstein said. One shot grazed him from the side, but the remaining five were to the back, including one shot in the center of his back that the pathologist testified could only have occurred if Olivera had been lying on the pavement.
Several eyewitnesses and family members testified that Oates fired as Olivera walked away from the confrontation and that Oates continued to fire in a downward angle as Olivera landed on the pavement face-down.
“This was senseless hyper-vigilance,” said deputy solicitor Sean Thornton, who prosecuted the case. “Preston Oates is a dangerous person who deserves every day of the 26-year sentence. Although it took a long time to get here, I am glad we were able to deliver justice and some measure of closure to the family.”
It took jurors approximately three hours to render a verdict. Judge Brooks Goldsmith handed down the sentence. By law, Oates must serve at least 85 percent before being eligible for early release.