2nd Man Charged With Murder In 2011 Disappearance

A 36-year-old Gaston man on Friday became the second man charged with murder in the 2011 disapperance of a West Columbia man.

Officers with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Fugitive Task Force in cooperation with agents from South Carolina Law Enforcement Division served Jamey Charles Mallette with arrest warrants on charges of murder and kidnapping.

The charges are connected to the Christmas Eve 2011 disappearance of 22-year-old Michael Jody George, 22, of 4029 Edmund Highway, West Columbia, from Shooter’s Bar at 3030 Charleston Highway near Cayce. Murder charges have been filed although George's body has never been found.

Mallette is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing. A circuit judge would have to conduct the bond hearing, and the 11th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office has not yet scheduled one, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office.

Arrest warrants allege that between approximately 10 p.m. Dec. 23, 2011, and approximately 5:30 a.m. Dec. 24, 2011, Mallette "unlawfully confined and kidnapped" George. In addition, warrants allege that forensic evidence links Mallette to George’s disappearance and death, Sheriff James Metts said.

Mallette is the second suspect to be arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of George.

Metts asked anyone with information about Mallette, Embree, or the disappearance and death of Michael George to contact the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at (803) 785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

Citizens also can provide information anonymously by accessing the Crime Tip link on the Sheriff’s Department web site (www.lexingtonsheriff.com).