Cyrus Carmack-Belton’s Killer Was Found Not Guilty Of Murder, And We Shouldn’t Be Surprised

The Asian convenience store owner who shot and killed 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2023, has been acquitted of murder. Cyrus was accused of shoplifting, while having a pistol in his possession that authorities said he never threatened anyone with, which, of course, didn’t stop the store owner and his son from chasing the teen for more than 130 yards away from the store, before he was fatally shot in the back.

According to NBC News, on Monday, a jury found 61-year-old Chikei Rick Chow not guilty of murdering Cyrus, who was accused of stealing multiple bottles of water from the Shell gas station Chow owns, which prosecutors said he didn’t do, but ultimately didn’t matter because Chow’s son claimed he threatened him with the gun that was later recovered near Cyrus’ body.

As we previously reported, the killing enraged the Black community in Columbia and advocates across the nation, and that anger will likely intensify now that Chow is walking free after being locked up since he was arrested over the shooting.

From NBC:

Prosecutors and a defense lawyer in closing arguments painted different pictures of the 2023 shooting. Prosecutors said Chow acted in anger because he wrongly thought the teen had stolen four bottles of water from the store. A defense lawyer said Chow fired to defend his son only after the teen 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,” defense attorney Shaun Kent told jurors during closing arguments. The defense attorney said Andy Chow testified that Carmack-Belton pointed a gun at him.

Prosecutors acknowledged Carmack-Belton had a semiautomatic pistol, but they say it fell on the ground during the chase and he never threatened anyone with it. Prosecutors said Chow chased the teen more than 130 yards from the store.

Gipson told jurors that Chow “chased a kid down, shot him in the back.”

During closing arguments, Gipson placed a bottle of water before jurors. Gipson said that Chow “at the end of the day, believed that a human is not more than that.”

It’s worth noting that at the time of Chow’s arrest, police officials — who don’t have a reputation of going out of their way to defend Black teens accused of stealing while armed — said there was no evidence that Cyrus ever pointed the gun he had in his possession at anyone.

“It’s senseless, it doesn’t make sense,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at the time. “You have a family that’s grieving. We have a community that’s grieving over a 14-year-old who was shot.”

In closing arguments, Gipson noted that multiple witnesses testified that they didn’t see anything in the teen’s hands, and never saw him point a gun at Chow’s son as he ran from the store.

“Nobody testified that happened that doesn’t have the last name Chow,” Gipson said.

And there it is…

The only people who claim they saw Cyrus threaten anyone with a gun are the people who had every reason to say so, whether it was true or not.

Cyrus’ death has been compared to that of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, who was shot and killed 35 years ago in Los Angeles, after a Korean Deli store owner accused her of stealing a $1.79 bottle of orange juice, despite the fact that she was holding $2 when the store owner grabbed her. The store owner, Soon Ja Du, shot her in the back of the head after she punched her and fled for the door. A jury found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but instead of serving a maximum of 16 years in prison, Judge Joyce A. Karlin sentenced him to probation, because that was all a young Black life was worth, just as Cyrus’ and countless others.

What’s that they say about “the more things change”?

SEE ALSO:

Teen’s Killing Spotlights Black-Asian Relations

Funeral Set For Cyrus Carmack-Belton