AYNOR, SC (WBTW) – The trials for two suspects arrested in connection with the disappearance of a missing Aynor teen are on hold as the Attorney General’s Office files an appeal.
Robert Kittle with the Attorney General’s Office says though Javon Gibbs of Conway and Christopher Brown of Myrtle Beach are co-defendants, they plan to try Gibbs first.
Kittle says during pre-trial motions, Gibbs’ defense attorney moved to exclude a search warrant filed for cell tower information.
“The judge ruled against us and excluded that evidence,” Kittle said in his email. “We are appealing that ruling to the Court of Appeals, so the trial is on hold until the Court of Appeals rules on that. There is no time frame for when the Court will rule, but his attorney filed a response on March 8.”
Gibbs and Brown were arrested in December of 2014. Gibbs was charged with murder and kidnapping after Zachary Malinowski went missing in 2013. A relative found the burnt remains of his car in the woods in September of 2013, but Malinowski’s body has still not been found.
The Zachary Malinowski case is not the only case for which Gibbs faces charges. Police say while Gibbs was out on bond for the Malinowski murder and kidnapping, he killed Laquan Johnson in September 2016 at a home on Kimberly Drive in Conway. Brown was also arrested in connection to another crime while he was out on bond. The Horry County Police Department said Brown shot a man in the leg after an argument at a Burger King drive-thru in November 2015.
A vigil was held in August 2016 for Malinowski, who went missing in August 2013. Friends and family gathered to pray for Malinowski’s return, who was only 19 when he was last seen playing basketball in Aynor Town Park.
