Police want suspect 'badly'

Submitted photo.

The search continues for a man wanted in Aiken County on two murder charges and an arson charge, as well as for a brutal beating that left a woman in critical condition in Augusta.

Franklin Wright of Oliver Drive in Beech Island is still on the loose and is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.

"We have not caught him yet, but we want to get him as badly as anyone," said Capt. Charles Barranco of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

The search for Wright is ongoing in both South Carolina and Georgia, and Barranco confirmed investigators from both states are in contact with one another concerning the search for Wright.

Warrants for the 55-year-old Beech Island man's arrest were issued Thursday for the Aug. 11 murder of Yana Peters Schenker and Shalamar Nicole Byrd and the arson of Schenker's home on Paddocks Bend. All three of the crimes took place on the same day and were discovered within an hour of each other. Schenker and Byrd died of asphyxiation, and their bodies were burned in an attempt to destroy evidence.

On Wednesday, Wright was linked to the brutal beating and robbery of Jennie Hope at the Lotto Express Store located at 13th and Broad streets in downtown Augusta.

Law enforcement have followed up on several tips about Wright's whereabouts and thought to have been last seen in the Hephzibah area around Windsor Spring, Railroad Avenue and Jones Street. On Friday, the public schools in the Blythe-Hephzibah area were placed on "soft-lock down" as police searched the area. The search also continues in Aiken County.

Law enforcement is advising everyone to be alert and, if they come in contact or with Wright, to call 911 immediately.

"Wright should be considered armed and dangerous," states Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt in press materials.

This isn't Wright's first time being charged with crimes in Aiken County. He has served several decades in prison for rape, attempted escape, multiple assaults and armed robberies. His criminal history dates back to the early 1970s.

At 17 years of age, Wright was sentenced to serve six years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He served nearly three years in prison before being paroled in November 1975.

In August 1976, he was charged with rape and buggery and two counts of assault and battery with the intent to kill, house breaking and grand larceny. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

In 1988, Wright was charged in Columbia for a first-degree burglary and several counts of armed robbery.

Anyone with information about this subject is asked to contact the Aiken County Sheriff's Office at (800) 922-9709. Individuals also should call CrimeStoppers of the Midlands at (888) CRIME-SC. Callers can remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of between $50 and $1,000.