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South Carolina man facing charges in Brockton double killing

BROCKTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) -- A 25-year-old man is in police custody in South Carolina for his alleged connection to a Dec. 2012 double homicide in Brockton.

The Plymouth District Attorney's Office says Guerry Hickman, of Summerville, S.C., was placed in police custody in North Charleston, S.C. after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Friday morning.

Hickman is accused of murdering Tashawn Leslie and Tyrelle Baker in Brockton on Dec. 29.

The 25-year-old faces two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition charges. Hickman will be brought to Mass. to answer to these charges.

Police say Tashawn Leslie and Tyrelle Baker, both 23 and both of Brockton, were found fatally shot inside their running car in the north side of the city just after 4 p.m. on Dec. 29. Leslie was in the driver's seat and Baker was in the front passenger seat with his window rolled down.

Both had been shot in the chest and were taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

"It's hard to believe that someone so important to me is no longer here," said Leslie's sister Shawana Leslie. "It's something I'll never forget."

According to a South Carolina police report, one of the victims was talking to a man named Anthony Rivera before and during the killing. Police said Rivera and a woman named Crystal Mergenthaler, neighbors to Hickman, were potential suspects in the case.

Rivera was arrested on a burglary charge out of Massachusetts. Mergenthaler was arrested on drug charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report