Surveillance footage captured the May 6, 2023 killing of 41-year-old Georgia Shentrell Dinkins outside a Dorchester Road gas station. D'Andre Floyd pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced on July 31, 2025 to 50 years in prison, with credit for time spent in pretrial custody. Floyd's co-defendant, Jessika Seals, entered an Alford plea to accessory after the fact in April 2025; her sentencing was deferred and she faces a separate pending ammunition-possession charge. Dinkins' children delivered emotional victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing.
50-Year Prison Term For Man Who Fatally Shot Woman Near North Charleston Gas Station
A man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for pleading guilty to shooting a woman to death outside a gas station in 2023. File
Surveillance video captured the violent encounter that left 41-year-old Georgia Shentrell Dinkins dead outside a Dorchester Road gas station in the early morning hours of May 6, 2023. The footage, reviewed in court, shows the rapid sequence of events that prosecutors say ended Dinkins’ life.
Details Of The Incident
Prosecutors say Dinkins had purchased an item and retrieved her bicycle when a vehicle suddenly blocked her path as she tried to leave the parking lot. According to 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Jordan Norvell, passenger D'Andre Floyd exited the car, struck Dinkins with the butt of a pistol and then shot her at close range. The driver, identified as Jessika Seals, put the car in reverse and left the scene; police arrested both suspects the same day.
Sentencing And Courtroom Reaction
On July 31, 2025, Floyd, now 32, pleaded guilty to murder. Circuit Judge Roger M. Young—who told the court he had viewed the surveillance footage that morning—called the killing "murdered in cold blood" and said he remained shocked by such acts despite his long judicial career.
"I'm just stunned by the quickness in which her life ended," Judge Young said from the bench. "It still shocks me sometimes to see another human being murdered in cold blood."
The judge accepted the prosecution's recommendation and sentenced Floyd to 50 years in prison, with credit for a little more than three years of pretrial custody. Judge Young explained that, given Floyd's age, the 50-year term was effectively a life sentence while leaving a narrow possibility for future atonement.
Victim Impact And Defense Plea
Dinkins' adult children delivered emotional victim impact statements urging the harshest punishment. Daughter Monique Brown addressed the court: "Do you know what death stole? Not just breath. It stole birthdays. It stole late-night phone calls. It stole hugs my babies still reach for without realizing it." The judge later described Brown's statement as one of the most moving he had heard.
In court, Floyd asked Dinkins' family for mercy. His defense attorney requested a 35-year term, noting that Floyd's guilty plea spared the family and the state the trauma and expense of a trial.
Co-Defendant And Pending Charges
Seals, who was driving the car that morning, entered an Alford plea in April 2025 to a reduced charge of accessory after the fact in exchange for agreeing to testify against Floyd. An Alford plea results in a conviction while allowing the defendant to maintain a claim of innocence, acknowledging that sufficient evidence exists for a jury to convict.
Seals had been placed on strict house arrest in November 2023. In May 2025 she was arrested on an unrelated charge of unlawful possession of ammunition by a person convicted of a violent crime; she posted bail the same day. That ammunition charge remains pending in General Sessions Court, and Seals' sentencing on the accessory charge has been deferred.
Where Things Stand: Floyd is serving a 50-year sentence with credit for time served; Seals faces a deferred sentence for accessory after the fact and a separate pending ammunition-possession charge.
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