Mt. Pleasant man killed in Virginia

A Mt. Pleasant man who was serving with the U.S. Navy was one of two men who were shot to death outside of a night club in Virginia.

Virginia Beach police said Mark T. VanHorn, 24, of Mt. Pleasant, and Michael T. Porter, 26, of the state of California, were shot to death Jan. 15 outside Ocean's Cabaret, a nightclub near Oceana Air Naval Station.

Both men were stationed with the Navy in Virginia Beach, said police. VanHorn was working as a bouncer at the club. Police said Porter was a patron.

Two men, Charles Lorenzo Butler, 23, of Virginia Beach, Va., and Steven Alexander Breaux, 21, of Norfolk, Va., have been charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted capital murder and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, authorities said.

Police said Butler and Breaux created a minor disturbance inside the club shortly after 1 a.m. Both were asked to leave and escorted outside.

Once outside, police allege, the two men shot VanHorn and Porter. Butler and Breaux also fired at a third patron, Hector Diaz, who tried to stop them from fleeing. Diaz, who was unhurt, was an off-duty Portsmouth deputy sheriff.

VanHorn and Porter died at the scene, police said.

A police dog led investigators to a ditch behind the nightclub, where Butler and Breaux were discovered hiding.

VanHorn, a 2000 graduate of Mt. Pleasant Area High School, was serving aboard the USS Winston S. Churchill.

Survivors include a daughter, Libby VanHorn, his mother, Melvajo T. Simon, and his stepfather, Ike Bennett.

Brooks Funeral Home, 406 E. Washington St., Mt. Pleasant, is handling arrangements.