A Williamston man will spend the next 20 years in a South Carolina state prison after pleading guilty to shooting a Dollar General cashier during a robbery in Anderson County.

Thomas Britt Alewine entered his guilty plea in February on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery, according to the 10th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. A judge handed down the 20-year sentence following the plea.

The case stems from an incident at a Dollar General store in which Alewine shot a store cashier and then stole money from the register. The cashier survived the shooting.

The 10th Circuit covers Anderson and Oconee counties. Prosecutors in that circuit handled the case through the solicitor’s office, which announced the sentence.

Armed robberies at retail stores have drawn increased prosecutorial attention across South Carolina in recent years, as convenience stores and dollar stores have become frequent targets. Employees at those locations often work alone or in small numbers during overnight and early morning hours, leaving them vulnerable when confronted by armed suspects.

The 20-year sentence reflects the serious charges Alewine faced. Attempted murder in South Carolina carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years. Armed robbery carries a potential life sentence under state law. Alewine’s guilty plea resolved both charges simultaneously.

Details about what prompted the robbery, when exactly it occurred, and the current condition of the injured cashier were not immediately available from the solicitor’s office announcement.

Williamston is a small town in Anderson County with a population of roughly 3,600 residents. The town sits in the northwest corner of the state, part of the Upstate region that includes Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson.

Dollar General has faced scrutiny in several states over worker safety conditions at its stores. The company operates thousands of locations across the country, many of them in rural and lower-income areas. Critics have argued the company’s staffing model puts workers at risk by leaving single employees to manage stores for hours at a stretch. Federal workplace safety regulators have cited the chain multiple times for hazardous conditions, though those citations have focused primarily on blocked exits and storage problems rather than violent crime.

Alewine’s case did not involve any federal charges. State prosecutors handled the matter entirely within the South Carolina court system.

South Carolina prison sentences for armed robbery and attempted murder typically require offenders to serve a substantial portion of their time before becoming eligible for any form of early release consideration. Under state sentencing guidelines, violent offenders must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before parole consideration becomes available. For a 20-year sentence, that means Alewine would need to serve at least 17 years before any release review.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections will supervise Alewine’s incarceration. The department manages dozens of facilities across the state and houses thousands of inmates serving sentences for violent offenses.

Cases involving gunshot victims tend to draw longer sentences than robberies without physical harm. Prosecutors in the 10th Circuit have pointed to sentencing outcomes like this one as evidence of their office’s focus on violent crime accountability.

The cashier’s identity has not been made public. Victims of violent crimes in South Carolina are not required to be identified in court proceedings, and solicitor’s offices routinely protect victim identities in cases involving assault.

Alewine’s attorney was not identified in the solicitor’s office announcement, and no statement from the defense was included in the release.

The guilty plea avoided a trial, which is common in cases where physical evidence and witness testimony are strong. Plea agreements allow prosecutors to secure a certain outcome without the time and cost of a jury trial, while defendants sometimes receive consideration for sparing victims the experience of testifying.

Whether any plea agreement included specific sentencing recommendations was not disclosed by the solicitor’s office.

The case is closed at the trial court level. Any future action would come through the appellate process if Alewine’s attorneys pursue post-conviction relief.