Man pleads guilty to attempted robbery, attempted murder

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — Rodrick Caskey, 20, will spend 30 years in prison for a botched armed robbery and shooting of a sheriff's deputy a year and a half ago.

On Wednesday, Channel 9 was there as he pleaded guilty to armed robbery, attempted murder and weapons charges.

Deputy Brandon Rollins said he still hears the voice of Caskey in his head and remembers the feeling of being shot.

"I remember thinking about my four beautiful children, and my wife, and whether I would ever get to see them again," he said through tears.

Rollins was shot as he and three other officers were eating dinner at the Shrimp Boat restaurant in Lancaster. It was Nov. 17, 2011, and they were members of a drug enforcement team taking a dinner break.

"I'll never forget the look at Brandon's face, as he was shot and he started to bleed," said Deputy Ryan McLemore.

According to court documents, Caskey was addicted to crack cocaine, using marijuana and was drinking two bottles of gin a day. He later told deputies that he needed money and went to rob the restaurant because he'd just gotten two new guns and wanted to try them out. One of the guns had been reported stolen the day before the crime.

Caskey walked into the Shrimp Boat through the back door carrying a 9mm pistol in one hand and a .357 revolver in the other. He started screaming and cursing at the cashier, demanding money. That's when the deputies eating in another room realized what was happening.

"They stood up and pulled their service weapons, moving toward the area where Caskey was," said solicitor Doug Barfield. McLemore fired at Caskey when Caskey pointed a gun at him. One bullet went through a wall and struck Rollins in the chest.

"It went in one side of his torso, came out the other side of his torso, and lodged in his arm," Barfield said. That bullet is still there because doctors didn't think it was safe to remove it.

Caskey was shot in the left cheek, and ran back out of the restaurant. Within hours he was caught walking on West Meeting Street. He still had both handguns on him and was bleeding from his face.

Rollins was flown to Carolinas Medical Center for emergency surgery. On Wednesday, he was emotional as he read letters from his children to the gunman. His 12-year-old daughter wrote, "You could've taken my daddy from me. My daddy means the world to me, and my world would've been over if you had taken him from me."

His 8-year-old son wrote; "I was sad the night my daddy got shot. I was thinking he was (going to) die."

Later, Caskey broke down in tears hearing his mother ask the judge for leniency. She apologized to the families involved, and told the judge she didn't know what she did wrong to cause this tragedy to happen.

Caskey himself also apologized.

"I wish I could take it back, but I can't. I'm sorry," he said, tears streaming down his face.

Caskey was sentenced not only for the robbery and shooting at the Shrimp Boat, but also for an armed robbery that happened a year earlier.

In November 2010, he robbed Discount Beverage, holding the clerk at knife point. That victim, Doris Goins, also spoke out in court Wednesday, asking for the maximum sentence.

Caskey was not charged with that crime until his arrest the night of the incident at the Shrimp Boat.

Sheriff Barry Faile told the judge that Caskey has not been a model inmate either since his arrest. He's been charged for assaulting officers at the jail and destroying property at least a half dozen times.

Through all of his pain, and the emotional toll on his family and his fellow deputies, Rollins had some encouraging words for the man who nearly killed him.

"Rodrick Caskey, I want you to know I forgive you, and I wish you luck in the future," he said.

Moments earlier, Caskey apologized directly to Rollins' children, who wrote those heartfelt letters.

"I''m sorry for your kids, because I wouldn't want anyone to do that to my momma or my daddy," he said.

Caskey will be nearly 50 years old when he gets out of prison.

WSOC