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Men plead to burglary; face decades in prison

LANDRUM—An attack on a well-known Upstate couple who own the W.E. Willis Store outside Landrum has been solved with 4 men pleading guilty on Monday. 

Jack Foreman IV, Jack Foreman III, Jeffrey Mullins Jr. and Da’Juan Young were accused of attempted murder, kidnapping and other charges. 

Warren and Ann Willis were attacked on Sept. 28, 2018, with Greenville County Solicitor Walt Wilkins saying 6 defendants were engaged in the crime. 

“The state’s glad for the Willis family to finally get justice in this particular case,” Wilkins said. “It’s been a long time coming, 3 years for this case to come to trial.” 

Wilkins said it was a complicated crime that started months before they bought a tracker, put it on the victim’s car and watched him. 

According to police reports, Warren was kidnapped from his store in Landrum, bound by zip ties, beaten and robbed. He was later taken to his home in Travelers Rest, where his wife was assaulted, shot and stabbed. Both the victims survived the attack. 

Foreman III was sentenced to 60 years in prison; Foreman IV was sentenced to 45 years in prison; Mullins was sentenced to 55 years in prison and Young was sentenced to 60 years in prison, all on the burglary charge. 

There are 2 other people involved in the case who pleaded guilty 2 years ago and will have their sentencing later this week. There are also 3 other suspects who were charged with accessories after the fact with their cases still pending.