Opening statements commenced Wednesday in a South Carolina courtroom where a store owner faces murder charges for the deadly shooting of a 14-year-old Black teenager in 2023. Prosecutors described the incident as unprovoked and “heinous,” while defense attorneys maintained their client acted to protect his son.
Chikei Rick Chow, 61, who is Asian, fatally shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back while pursuing him on foot in Columbia on May 28, 2023. Prosecutors say Chow mistakenly believed the teen had stolen four water bottles from his store. The incident deeply impacted the African American community in Richland County, where Black residents make up nearly half the population.
Although prosecutors admit Carmack-Belton carried a semiautomatic pistol, they contend the weapon dropped to the ground during the pursuit and the teen never used it to threaten anyone. However, defense attorneys claim the teenager aimed the gun at Chow’s son, Andy, prompting Chow to fire a single defensive shot.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what is the value of a human life?” prosecutor Byron E. Gipson asked the 12-member jury. “To grieving parents who lost a 14-year-old to senseless acts of violence, a human life is priceless.”
Gipson added, “But on May 28, 2023, Chikei Rick Chow, the defendant in this case, determined that Cyrus Carmack-Belton’s life was worth less than four bottles of water.”
The prosecutor then challenged Chow’s assertion that he was defending his son.
“In what world do you get to falsely accuse a 14-year-old of stealing, chase a 14-year-old 130 plus yards down a road while you’re armed with a pistol, shoot that person in the back, then claim you’re defending your son?” he said. “Folks it’s for that senseless act, for that ridiculous act, for that heinous act, that Chikei Rick Chow, the defendant in this case, has been charged and indicted for the crime of murder.”
Defense attorney Jack Swerling opened by questioning why the teenager was carrying a pistol with a laser sight on Columbia streets.
“If he didn’t have that weapon, he never would have had a weapon to draw on Andy Chow,” Swerling said. “He never would have had a weapon to put Andy Chow in danger. And he never would have had a weapon that would cause Mr. Chow to believe his son was going to be shot and have to make a split-second decision — a split-second decision — as to whether or not to go ahead and fire that gun and protect his son.”
Swerling argued Chow believed he had no alternative but to shoot the teenager. The defense attorney noted that Chow administered CPR to Carmack-Belton afterward, which he said demonstrates Chow acted without malice — a necessary component of murder charges in South Carolina.
“Nobody’s saying everybody’s happy about this, but unfortunately there are occasions in human life when someone has to exercise that right of self-defense or defense of others,” Swerling said. “It’s sad. It’s tragic. There’s no question about that. My heart goes out to the family. They suffered a tremendous loss.”
Chow sat with his legal team at the defense table, dressed in a dark suit and white-collared shirt without a tie, periodically taking notes on a pad.
Following opening statements, a responding police officer became the first witness to testify. The trial is anticipated to continue for several days.
Carmack-Belton had entered the store around 8 p.m. that evening, wearing a hoodie and carrying a backpack. Following store policy, he left the backpack at the entrance and walked through the aisles, Gipson explained.
The teenager eventually approached a cooler and removed four water bottles, then returned all the bottles to the cooler, Gipson said. While Carmack-Belton shopped, the Chows observed him with suspicion, he noted. The Xpress Mart Shell station store had multiple surveillance cameras both inside and outside that captured the sequence of events.
A confrontation occurred when Carmack-Belton returned to the store entrance and rejected the Chows’ accusations that he had stolen water, Gipson said. The teen then retrieved his backpack and exited the store.
Chow and his son Andy then pursued Carmack-Belton, who started running. The teen lost a shoe and stumbled several times during the chase, which covered approximately 130 yards from the store to a city street before the shooting occurred, Gipson said.
A firearm was discovered near Carmack-Belton’s body, but investigators have stated there is no evidence the teen ever pointed the weapon at Chow or his son.
Owning a business was a dream for Chikei Rick Chow, Swerling said. Chow was born in Hong Kong and his wife was born in Malaysia. Both became U.S. citizens and had two sons, he said.
