A Denmark man will spend the next 40 years of his life in a South Carolina prison. Mark A. Brown, Jr., 19, of Denmark, SC, pled guilty in the April 2009 term of Bamberg County General Sessions Court to the murder of 88 year-old well-known Denmark businessman, Alfred Myers, for a crime committed on Thursday, August 28, 2008.

Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison by Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge Doyet A. “Jack” Early III of Bamberg. The defendant was represented by Attorney Grant B. Gibbons, and the state was represented by Carol Summers.

The defendant, showing no remorse for his crime according to court reports, waived the presentation of his case to a grand jury and will be given credit for time served. The sentencing of Brown, who was 17 at the time of the murder, brings partial closure to the widow of the man known widely in the community between Voorhees Road and Church Street in the city of Denmark as “Mr. Myers.”

In an interview last week, Jessie Myers, widow of Alfred Myers, stated that she still couldn’t find room in her heart to hate the teenager who took the life of her husband.

“Well, I don’t hate the boy. I will pray for him and his family.

He didn’t have to hurt Al. I’m sorry it happened. I hope and pray he learns something from going to prison, Al didn’t bother anybody.”

“Shocking and senseless” are some of the words residents near the Five Points area in Denmark used to describe their feelings Friday morning, August 29, after learning of the death of the beloved 88 year-old businessman.

According to Denmark Police Chief Leroy Grimes, Bamberg County Central Dispatch received a call at 2:51 p.m. Thursday, August 28, 2008 that said an EMS unit was needed at Mr. Myers’ place of business, thinking that he may have had a sugar or heart attack.

Myers was transported to the Bamberg County Memorial Hospital by the Bamberg County Rescue Squad where a small wound was found on his body. Hospital officials then informed Denmark Police that Myers may have been shot.

Officers of the Denmark Police Department and the Bamberg County Sheriff’s Department then secured the area around the business and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was notified.

Myers’ son, Kelvin Myers, stated the next day, “It’s like a dream, but reality is setting in.” The younger Myers stated that he and his mother had told his father to stay away from the business for a while after he was “badly beaten” there less than a month earlier. “We thought he wouldn’t make it, he’s a tough guy, he loved it, and this was his outlet.”

The elder Myers, a retired chemist, inherited the small business from his father who taught at Voorhees College for over 40 years. To residents in the community, the little store opened in 1948 was a special place for the children of the community to buy two-for-a penny cookies, candy, and water when they couldn’t go in other stores in Denmark in the earlier days.

“It’s shocking and senseless that someone would do this in broad daylight to someone that age, that has been so good to the community,” several residents said the next day after the event happen.

Jessie Myers stated that her hope is that God will forgive the young man that took the life of her husband. “It’s sad, he ruined his life. He did it and he’s got to pay for the crime. I hope he prays real hard for God to forgive him. I feel for his parents. I know it was wrong. I don’t hate the boy. I will pray for him and his family. He didn’t have to hurt Al.”