Blythewood man convicted of murdering Myrtle Beach man

A Blythewood man on Thursday was convicted of the 2019 murder of a Myrtle Beach man and received a life sentence.

Darrell Demarcus Land, 34, was also convicted of possession of weapon during a violent crime, the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office said in a news release, but because he received a life sentence for murder, there was no additional sentence for the weapons charge.

Land was convicted for murdering Arnold Jamal Bennet of Myrtle Beach, who had last been seen on Aug. 4, 2019. His family reported him missing on Aug. 13, police said. 

The solicitor’s office said Land killed Bennett with a gunshot wound to the head and dumped him in a wooded area off Old Sanders Road near Robert Edge Parkway. Two North Myrtle Beach city workers found his remains on Aug. 30, 2019.

“This was a complicated case involving multiple police departments,” said senior assistant solicitor Mary-Ellen Walter, who prosecuted the case. “Both the Myrtle Beach Police Department, which took the initial missing person report and the Horry County Police Department, which took over the investigation, did an outstanding job. Special thanks go to Detective Ken Marcus for his perseverance in ensuring justice for Mr. Bennett.”