A South Carolina teenager will spend up to five years in prison after fatally shooting his uncle in the head — moments after the uncle handed him a gun and asked if he wanted to “take a shot.”
Damarion Nealy, 18, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2025 shooting death of his 20-year-old uncle, Gregory Johnson II, in Horry County. A judge sentenced Nealy who was 17 at the time of the shooting under the youthful offender act, capping his prison term at no more than five years.
According to prosecutors, the two were together in Johnson’s car when Johnson fired a pistol at deer in the woods. He then handed the weapon to his teenage nephew and asked if he wanted to “take a shot.” It was already illegal for Nealy to hold the gun given his age.
Rather than firing into the woods, Nealy pointed the weapon directly at his uncle’s head with “his finger on the trigger with enough pressure to discharge the weapon,” prosecutors said. The gun went off and the bullet struck Johnson in the head. Nealy fled the scene. Johnson died a short time later.
When Nealy later spoke to authorities, he acknowledged he had been holding the gun and said it “went off.” Prosecutors determined the circumstances of the shooting did not amount to a more serious charge. “The fact and the evidence of the case showed involuntary manslaughter was the appropriate charge in these circumstances,” said James D. Stanko, a violent crimes assistant solicitor.
“We feel this was a fair resolution to these tragic events.” The case has left behind a family mourning a young man with ambitions and a growing sense of purpose. According to his obituary, Johnson had recently launched a landscaping business alongside his father.
“Gregory’s entrepreneurial spirit convinced his dad to help him develop a landscaping business so that he could supplement his income. Gregory talked about doing other projects around the house like rebuilding Grandma’s old barn, renovating the shed, and adding to his house,” the obituary read.
He was 20 years old.
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