{"id":3273,"date":"2026-06-02T14:31:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3273"},"modified":"2026-06-02T14:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:31:18","slug":"jury-finds-south-carolina-store-owner-not-guilty-in-fatal-shooting-of-black-teen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3273","title":{"rendered":"Jury finds South Carolina store owner not guilty in fatal shooting of Black teen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3272\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/23978abf635c5d5611e0763279941082.webp\" width=\"764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/23978abf635c5d5611e0763279941082.webp 764w, https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/23978abf635c5d5611e0763279941082-300x170.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/figure>\n <span>article<\/span><\/div> <div><div><p><span>Rick Chow rests his head in his hands after being found not guilty in the shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton on Monday, June 1, 2026, at the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia, S.C. (Tracy Glantz\/The State\/Tribune News Service via Getty Image<\/span> <!-- --><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3270\">Iran latest: Trump says Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to scale back fighting amid negotiations<\/a><\/p> <div>Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div> <!-- --><\/div> <!-- --> <!-- --><p>A jury in South Carolina found a store owner not guilty of murder after the shooting of a Black teenager.\u00a0<\/p> <p>The backstory:<\/p> <!-- --><p>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.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><div><\/div> <!-- --><p>Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the child, Cyrus Carmack-Belton, put the bottles back in the cooler and was off the store&#8217;s property and running away when he was killed.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><strong>South Carolina store owner charged with teen boy\u2019s murder shot at suspected shoplifters before<\/strong><\/p> <!-- --><h2>The trial of Rick Chow<\/h2> <!-- --><p>What we know:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Prosecutors said Chow thought the teen stole the four bottles of water and shot in anger. Chow\u2019s defense says he only shot to defend his son after the teen pointed a gun at him.\u00a0<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3268\">Houston family seeks more time for toddler hospitalized after Memorial Day drowning incident<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><p>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.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p>What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Defense attorney Shaun Kent told jurors during closing arguments after Chow\u2019s son testified that Carmack-Belton pointed a gun at him,\u00a0&#8220;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,&#8221;\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p>Jack Swerling, another defense attorney, said,\u00a0&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p> <!-- --><p>What&#8217;s next:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Standing with the teen\u2019s family, Todd Rutherford, an attorney and South Carolina state representative, said the family will be pursuing a civil lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p>What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p> <!-- --><p>&#8220;This makes us feel as if our children don\u2019t matter and they do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This makes us feel like Cyrus\u2019 life didn\u2019t matter and it did,&#8221; Rutherford said.\u00a0<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=3266\">Dallas Mavericks leaving downtown for new Far North Dallas arena site<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><p><br\/>\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --> <!-- --><p><br\/>\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --> <!-- --> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A jury in South Carolina found a store owner not guilty of murder after the shooting of a Black teenager.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,133,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-south-carolina","category-u-s"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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