Man who pled guilty to kidnapping, assault near CCU wants conviction vacated

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) - A man sentenced to years in prison wants the conviction that got him there vacated.

Mije Basnight, 18, of Loris, filed an application for post-conviction relief on Wednesday in the hopes of getting his conviction overturned.

Basnight pleaded guilty in July of last year to kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in connection to a 2021 kidnapping near Coastal Carolina University.

However, according to Basnight’s application, that guilty plea was not voluntary because the plea was not based on sound advice.

Basnight alleges his attorney failed to investigate the case, and his then juvenile waiver hearing was unconstitutional.

Basnight was originally arrested and charged after an incident on Oct. 31, 2021, at the Cove Apartments off Highway 544.

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The victim told authorities she was sitting in her car in a parking lot when two men approached and opened her car door.

Basnight held her at gunpoint, with arrest warrants stating he choked her and hit her in the face with the firearm.

The victim was forced into the back of the vehicle where another man, Ja’Rael Warren, sexually assaulted her. After that, documents state the two hit the victim with the back of the car as they were driving away from the scene.

Warren, now 20, also pleaded guilty and admitted to sexually assaulting the victim in 2023. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and is currently serving his sentence at Turbeville Correctional Institution.

A judge sentenced Basnight to 20 years in prison after his 2023 guilty plea, with a judge ruling he not be eligible for parole.

Basnight is currently in prison at the Lee Correctional Institution.

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