YORK COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- A former Chester County deputy has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 murder of retired Rock Hill Police Lieutenant Larry Vaughan.

The verdict was handed down this week in York County’s General Sessions Court following an over-week-long trial.

Evan Robert Hawthorne was convicted of killing Vaughan during a violent fight at Vaughan’s apartment on East Main Street in York in July 2021. Officers responding to the scene found Vaughan dead inside the home. Hawthorne was arrested the same day.

At the time of the incident, Hawthorne was no longer an active law enforcement officer. His career with the Chester County Sheriff’s Office ended in 2019 after he was fired due to a DUI crash while driving a patrol vehicle

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