Gas Station Owner Acquitted in Shooting Death of 14-Year-Old Cyrus Carmack-Belton — A Case That Divided South Carolina

On the evening of May 28, 2023, 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton walked into a Shell gas station on Parklane Road in Columbia, South Carolina. He never walked out alive.

Rick Chow had been charged with murder in the May 28, 2023 shooting death of Carmack-Belton outside the family's Shell gas station on Parklane Road. Prosecutors alleged Chow chased the teenager after falsely accusing him of stealing water bottles and then shot him during the pursuit. Prosecutors said Chow chased the teen more than 130 yards from the store.

Investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Department said surveillance video showed Carmack-Belton had not stolen anything from the store. From multiple camera angles, jurors saw Carmack-Belton pick up four bottles of water and put each one back. He was then confronted by Andy Chow and Rick Chow's wife, Alice, before the chase began.

On June 1, 2026 — nearly three years after that night — a Richland County jury delivered its verdict. The jury found Rick Chow not guilty in the shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. The verdict came after approximately eight hours of deliberations following a five-day trial at the Richland County Courthouse. The jury had asked for instructions to be clarified to them during deliberations.

The central conflict at trial came down to one critical factual dispute: did Carmack-Belton point a gun at Chow's son during the chase?

Defense attorneys argued Chow acted to protect his son after Carmack-Belton pointed a handgun at him. 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.

Multiple witnesses testified they never saw the teenager holding a gun during the chase. "Nobody testified that happened that doesn't have the last name Chow," prosecutor Gipson told jurors.

The forensic evidence pointed one way. The state relied heavily on testimony from forensic pathologist Dr. Amy Durso, who performed Carmack-Belton's autopsy. Durso testified the fatal bullet entered through the teenager's back, traveled through his body and struck his heart. She told jurors the wound was consistent with someone leaning forward while running and testified, "He was not shot from the front."

The reaction in the courtroom was raw. Belton's family, who was in the courtroom, broke down in tears after the verdict was read. Shouts and crying could be heard from the gallery as the verdict was read; Chow sat expressionless next to his attorneys.

Defense attorney Swerling said the defense's position throughout the case was that Rick Chow was acting as a father in that moment. "Anybody, any parent in that position would have done the same thing, in my opinion, you protect your children," Swerling said.

The family's attorney wasn't buying it. Attorney Todd Rutherford, who represents the Carmack-Belton family, said the family was disappointed and struggling to understand the jury's decision. "There is no way that a child who did nothing wrong, who was shot in his back, how that jury can justify that verdict," Rutherford said. Rutherford said the family was heartbroken by the outcome and asked supporters to remain peaceful despite their anger over the verdict.

This wasn't Chow's first run-in with this kind of situation. Years before the shooting, Chow shot a shoplifter and opened fire on the vehicle of another shoplifter in separate encounters at his station. Officials said the earlier incidents were cases of self-defense. But that prior history was largely kept from jurors — prosecutors revealed at a pretrial hearing that the sheriff's department had taken the "extraordinary" step to invite him in to discuss the limits of his legal use of force. Chow was never charged in any previous incident, and the judge said the jury wouldn't hear about the conversation unless the defense opened the door.

Chow has served three years in prison awaiting this verdict. The criminal case is now closed — but the family intends to continue pursuing its civil lawsuit against Chow despite the acquittal. The killing sent waves of anguish and grief through the African American community in Richland County, where nearly half the population is Black. That grief is far from over.