A South Carolina store owner was acquitted of murder charges after being jailed for three years before his trial. The charges stemmed from an incident in 2023, where the store owner fatally shot an armed teenager outside his store.
In Richland County, a jury declared Rick Chow not guilty in the shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Cormack-Belton, reaching their verdict on Monday.
The incident occurred on May 28, 2023, when Chow and his son, Andy Chow, suspected Cormack-Belton of shoplifting and pursued him outside their convenience store in Columbia, South Carolina.
Chikei Rick Chow is seen leaving the courtroom after his acquittal for the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old in Columbia, S.C., on June 1, 2026. (Photo by Erik Verduzco/AP)
According to reports from the Post and Courier, the father and son chased the teenager for about 100 yards. During the chase, Chow used a .45-caliber Glock handgun to shoot Cormack-Belton in the back, resulting in the teen’s death.
Cormack-Belton was carrying a semiautomatic pistol at the time, and Chow’s defense contended that he aimed the gun at Andy Chow, which caused the elder Chow to fire the shot in self-defense. While the state acknowledged that the teen had a gun, they said it fell onto the street and posed no danger to the Chows.
Chow was charged with murder the day after the shooting, and subsequently held without bond for just over three years leading up to the trial.
An obituary photo of Cyrus Cormack-Belton taken on an unknown date. (Legacy.com)
Tensions were high in the community as locals and activists held public demonstrations in the days and weeks after Cormack-Belton’s death. Crowds reportedly gathered outside Chow’s store on May 29, 2023, and cheered when they learned that Chow was charged with murder.
The store was vandalized later that night.
Chow’s trial lasted for three days, and according to the Post and Courier, the jury deliberated Monday for about 8 1/2 hours, from early afternoon to nearly 9 p.m., before reaching its decision.
After the not-guilty verdict, Chow was released from custody, and is now a free man for the first time since 2023.
The family of Cyrus Carmack-Belton reacts after a not guilty verdict against Chikei Rick Chow, a convenience store owner accused in the 2023 fatal shooting of the 14-year-old, during a murder trial in Columbia, S.C., on June 1, 2026. (Erik Verduzco/AP)
“We’re very pleased at the jury’s deliberations and their verdict,” one of Chow’s attorneys, Jack Swerling, said after the not-guilty verdict, WIS News 10 reported. “We think it was the appropriate verdict in this case. Although it was a difficult decision to come to, because you have two different stories to the extremes.”
“My heart goes out to them, but a 14-year-old kid should not be roaming the streets of Columbia or South Carolina with semiautomatic pistol loaded and ready to fire,” he said.
An attorney for the Cormack-Belton family, Todd Rutherford, said the family intends to file a civil lawsuit against Chow.
News Media reached out to Swerling and Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson, who prosecuted the case.
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