Left: “Tank,” the dog that prosecutors say died stopping a 2022 home invasion. Right: Raekwon Davante Richardson (Seventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office).
A 27-year-old man in South Carolina will spend the remainder of his days behind bars after his attempted home invasion was thwarted by a heroic dog, leaving him wounded and easily caught by authorities. Spartanburg County Circuit Court Judge R. Keith Kelly on Friday ordered Raekwon Davante Richardson to serve life in a state correctional facility without parole over the botched robbery that left Richardson injured.
Prosecutors said the dog, named “Tank,” likely “saved lives.” Unfortunately, he was killed by Richardson and his accomplices, who shot the animal multiple times as he was defending the family’s home.
Kelly handed down the sentence after a jury found Richardson guilty on counts of first-degree burglary and attempted armed robbery earlier this month
According to a news release from the Seventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Richardson and three other men in the predawn hours of Oct. 25, 2022, approached a home on Georgia Street in Clifton, South Carolina, and began banging on the door. The homeowner, his fiancee, and their infant child all awoke to the commotion coming from the front of the home.
Prosecutors say Richardson then “kicked in the front door of the home” and he and the other three men went inside. The homeowner told authorities that he did not recognize any of the perpetrators, noting that all four suspects were wearing masks and dressed in hooded sweatshirts.
As the men came into the home, Tank attacked Richardson, who had entered first, and bit him on the left leg.
“Multiple men in the group then shot the dog as the group ran from the home’s porch,” the release states. “Tank expired as a result of the gunshot wounds he sustained from the group when protecting his home and the victim.”
While attempting to shoot Tank off Richardson’s left leg, Richardson was shot in the right leg, prosecutors said. It was not known whether one of the other three men accidentally shot Richardson or if the wound was self-inflicted.
A surveillance camera at the home showed that all four of the intruders approached with firearms and duffel bags. As they were leaving, Richardson and the other men could also be seen dropping a roll of duct tape they had brought.
Additionally, the footage showed Richardson “limping away and not putting weight on his right leg as he walked from the residence.” He was not able to get far.
“A neighbor living one street over from the victim woke the next morning to find Mr. Richardson bleeding on her front porch,” prosecutors wrote. “The neighbor did not know Mr. Richardson and called law enforcement. Mr. Richardson refused to provide information regarding the gunshot wound to his right leg or the dog-bite wound on his left leg.”
Richardson did not cooperate with authorities, refusing to name the other three men seen breaking into the victim’s home. They are yet to be identified.
Prosecutors noted that Richardson had previously been convicted of numerous other felonies, including burglary, assault and battery, domestic violence, attempted armed robbery, and unlawful carrying of a handgun.
Assistant Solicitor Spenser Smith, who prosecuted the case, lauded the quick reaction by Tank, saying “he likely saved lives that morning with his reaction to Richardson and the other men.”
“If Tank was not at the home, the ultimate events that occurred probably would have been worse and Mr. Richardson might never have been identified,” he added.
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