On Monday, a Richland County jury acquitted former gas station owner Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton, bringing an end to a case that drew widespread attention across South Carolina.
Jurors deliberated for roughly eight hours before returning the not-guilty verdict. Chow had been charged after investigators said he shot Carmack-Belton following a confrontation outside a Columbia convenience store.
Prosecutors argued that Chow wrongly accused the teen of stealing water bottles, chased him from the store, and shot him in the back after he had left the property. The defense countered that Chow believed Carmack-Belton had pointed a gun at his son, Andy Chow, and said the shooting was an act of self-defense.
The case centered on conflicting accounts of whether the teen posed a threat. Prosecutors said a weapon was found near Carmack-Belton, but that he never threatened anyone with it before the shooting. Chow’s supporters argued he acted to protect his family.
“Two grown men chased him down over (the length of) a football field and shot him dead,” said attorney Todd Rutherford, representing the Belton family. “This should not happen. This makes us feel like Cyrus’ death did not matter and it did.”
Belton’s family is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Chow.
“We will be pursuing a civil lawsuit,” Rutherford said in a press conference after the verdict. “Rick Chow owes for what he did to Cyrus. He took a life that he should not have.”