• Devin Mason will be eulogized Tuesday in Cerro Gordo.
The mother of a man charged with killing a deputy July 1 has been arrested, charged with trying to help the shooter hide from law enforcement.
Darlington County Dep. Devin Mason, 27, was killed when Cameron Dennett ambushed Mason and another deputy attempting to arrest him. The other deputy was wounded but will recover, according to the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. Dennett died. Mason was a native of Evergreen and a graduate of West Columbus High School.
Warrants show that Dennett’s mother, Linda Perry Dennett, 77, was charged with felony neglecting to report a crime. She was held under a secured bond in the Darlington detention center.
Cameron Dennett ad his girlfriend, Kristen Porter, were reportedly hiding in Linda Dennett’s home when DCSO received a tip about their location, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a press release. Cameron Dennett and Porter were wanted for fraud and financial crimes.
Mason and the second deputy found Porter outside the home when they arrived at 2:11 a.m., and took her into custody.
“Using information gleaned on the scene, deputies determined Cameron Dennett was inside the residence,” an affidavit said.
Deputies found Linda Dennett in a bedroom and asked about her son, Mrs. Dennett complained that the deputies had awakened her, and said she didn’t know where he was. She then asked them to leave.
“As Depouty Mason approached the attached bathroom door,” the affidavit said, “Cameron Bennett began discharging his handgun toward deputies.”
Both deputies returned fire, the affidavit said.
Linda Dennett later admitted to investigators that she lied about her son’s whereabouts. She said she had known he was wanted “for several weeks,” the report said, and that he was carrying a handgun. Dennett was a convicted felon and was prohibited from owning a weapon, SLED said.
Porter was held under a secured bond on multiple felonies.
The deputy was described by friends and family as generous and outgoing. The Evergreen native was a standout on the West Columbus Viking Football team, where he carried on a family tradition of athletics was a wide receiver. He previously worked for Black’s Tire, but his lifelong dream was to be a law enforcement officer.
Mason left behind a fiancé and an infant son, as well as his mother and siblings. He will lie in honor Monday in the rotunda of the Darlington County Judicial Center from 6-8 p.m. A funeral service with full honors will be held Tuesday at Cerro Gordo Baptist Church at 2 p.m. Visitation will be from 12 noon until 1:50 p.m. Burial will be at Williamson Crossroads Baptist Church Cemetery.
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