Judge weighs search warrant in S.C. store owner’s slaying of teen

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina convenience store owner was back in court over the murder of a teenager falsely suspected of shoplifting.

A judge is weighing the validity of a search warrant after a hearing Tuesday.

Rick Chow is accused of shooting 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back after accusing him of shoplifting bottles of water.

Chow’s attorneys are not happy about a search warrant for Chow’s home and business, including laptops and banking records.

The state argued that prosecutors needed to look for store policies on shoplifting that Chow’s wife mentioned.

The defense said it’s not in writing, and that was a miscommunication.

In the emergency hearing before Judge Robert Hood, Chow’s defense team said the recent search warrant that was served on the Chow’s home and business exceeded the scope of the investigation.

Hood did not issue a ruling on the matter Tuesday but advised South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents working on the case to stop reviewing what was obtained during that search for now as he mulls over a decision.

Jack Swerling, Chow’s lawyer, argued that the state has no business accessing what was taken during that search, which included personal laptops with banking records.

He also questioned its legality.

“They’re way off base,” Swerling said. “They’re not entitled to any of it. So the question is whether you move to suppress it now or suppress it later, but the issue is not really suppressing the evidence because there’s no evidence of a crime. The issue is whether or not they’re entitled to this information.”

Deputy Solicitor April Sampson of the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office argued that the state needs access to these items to look for store policies having to do with shoplifting which was mentioned by Chow’s wife during an interview with investigators.

“This is a pattern of behavior for him,” she said. “And it may be something that we get into as part of prior bad acts as to the crime that he committed this day.”

The defendant, 58, has fired shots at suspected shoplifters two other times, but his conduct in those instances did not warrant any charges, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The records sought by the state would include policies and procedures signed by the current and past employees of the Shell gas station on Parkland Road, which is owned by the Chow family.

The state said it could use the presence or absence of these documents to show the credibility of witnesses in the case.

Hood did not accept that premise, based on the language of the search warrant.

“I think the state has morphed this into a credibility issue because when you read the facts of the affidavit, there’s nothing that former or current employees have to do with the crime in any way, shape, or form,” he said.

Hood said he will rule sometime next week.

Chow’s bond on the murder charge has not yet been set.

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