Cayce, SC 10/09/2021 (Paul Kirby) – Officers with the Cayce Department of Public Safety have made two additional arrests in connection to the murder of Heather Renee Jordan, 30, of the Cayce area. Jordan was found deceased in a home in the 1600 block of Northland Drive on Sunday, September 26, 2021. Shortly after the homicide, officers arrested Kendall Lamont Moody and charged him with her murder.
After Moody’s arrest, Cayce investigators continued to follow leads and process all the evidence they gathered at the scene regarding Jordan’s murder. In doing so, they found that Charles Cavin Craft, 18, and Michael Allen Ponder Sr., 39, both of West Columbia, were linked to the homicide of Jordan. Investigators say that these two men assisted in trying to cover up Jordan’s murder by moving her body after she was dead. As their investigation continued, detectives learned that Craft was known to them from an incident that occurred several days prior to Jordan’s murder.
According to a spokesperson for the Cayce Department, on Friday, September 24th at approximately 3:00 a.m., an officer with the Cayce Police Department was patrolling on the Charleston Highway corridor of the City of Cayce when he observed a traffic violation involving a white pickup truck. The driver of the truck was weaving and having trouble maintaining his position in the lane of traffic. A further check of records revealed that the pickup truck had also been reported stolen.
The Cayce officer initiated a traffic stop by activating his cruiser’s lights and siren but instead of pulling over, the truck’s driver initiated a short vehicle pursuit. The driver eventually stopped, jumped out of the truck, and continued to flee on foot. Several Cayce officers pursued on foot and at some point, the fleeing driver fired shots at those Cayce officers. Neither of the officers were hit by the gunshots. It was later determined that the suspect driver who fired the shots at the officers was Charles Cavin Craft, the man who assisted in the moving of heather Jordan’s body after her murder.
Now, Charles Cavin Craft, of West Columbia, has been taken into custody and charged with Accessory after the Fact of Murder, Attempted Murder, Failure to Stop for Blue Lights, Resisting Arrest with a Deadly Weapon, Possession of a Firearm during a Violent Crime and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.
His accomplice, Michael Allen Ponder Sr., of West Columbia, has been charged with Accessory after the Fact of Murder.
Both Craft and Ponder were taken into custody and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center. Another suspect has also been identified. That individual is currently an in-patient at a behavioral health treatment facility. Upon that suspect’s release, he will also be charged. After his arrest, the Cayce Department of Public Safety will release that individuals name.
In closing her statement, the City of Cayce’s Public Information Officer Ashley Hunter said, “The Cayce Police Department wants citizens to be reassured that your officers work diligently 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The closure being brought by these arrests to the victim’s family is thanks to the relentless pursuit of justice and hard work by your Cayce officers. We know that this was not a random crime but a targeted violent act which resulted in our victim senselessly losing her life. Violence and criminal behavior in Cayce have not and will not be tolerated.”
PHOTO CAPTION: L - Charles Cavin Craft R - Michael Allen Ponder Sr
