Jury finds South Carolina store owner not guilty in fatal shooting of Black teen

A jury in South Carolina found a store owner not guilty of murder after the shooting of a Black teenager. 

The backstory:

Rick Chow, a gas station owner, thought the 14-year-old boy had shoplifted four bottles of water at his Xpress Mart Shell station in Columbia in May 2023, authorities said. 

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the child, Cyrus Carmack-Belton, put the bottles back in the cooler and was off the store's property and running away when he was killed. 

RELATED: South Carolina store owner charged with teen boy’s murder shot at suspected shoplifters before

The trial of Rick Chow

What we know:

Prosecutors said Chow thought the teen stole the four bottles of water and shot in anger. Chow’s defense says he only shot to defend his son after the teen pointed a gun at him. 

In the trial, prosecutors said Chow chased after the boy more than 130 yards away from the store. They admitted Carmack-Belton had a handgun, but they said he never threatened anyone with it and it fell to the ground during the chase. 

What they're saying:

Defense attorney Shaun Kent told jurors during closing arguments after Chow’s son testified that Carmack-Belton pointed a gun at him, "This case is not about a shoplifter. This case is about a father who sees a gun pointed at his son and had to make a decision," 

Jack Swerling, another defense attorney, said, "My heart goes out to them, but 14-year-old kid should not be roaming the streets of Columbia or South Carolina with semiautomatic pistol loaded and ready to fire."

What's next:

Standing with the teen’s family, Todd Rutherford, an attorney and South Carolina state representative, said the family will be pursuing a civil lawsuit. 

What they're saying:

"This makes us feel as if our children don’t matter and they do," he said. "This makes us feel like Cyrus’ life didn’t matter and it did," Rutherford said. 

 

 

U.S.South CarolinaCrime and Public Safety