A store owner is free after a jury found him not guilty of killing a Black 14-year-old. Now his attorney is saying race was not an issue in the case.
A Richland County jury found Chikei Rick Chow, 60, not guilty of killing Cyrus Carmack-Belton in a 2023 shooting on Monday.
Chow, who is Asian, shot the teenager in the back after chasing him from his convenience store in Columbia, NBC News reported. He maintained he acted to defend his son, Andy Chow.
Prosecutors argued Chow falsely accused the teenager of stealing water bottles and shot him as he fled.
Defense lawyer Jack Swerling spoke with the Atlanta Black Star about the verdict.
“It was a very hot-button issue. People were saying it was racial profiling, and it was a Black versus the Asian community, and it really wasn’t,” he told our reporter. “People made it that way.”
Swerling said Carmack-Belton was armed and pointed the gun at Andy Chow before he was shot.
“[Rick Chow] was going after [Andy Chow] to see what was going on with his son,” Swerling said. “And when his son was in imminent danger, he made this terrible decision to, you know, shoot the guy, shoot the kid.”
According to Swerling, Carmack-Belton was armed with a 9-millimeter pistol with a laser on it.
Our reporter asked why the gun wasn’t brought up during the trial besides Andy Chow’s testimony. Swerling said it was never entered into evidence.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony that Carmack-Belton did not steal anything from the store. The surveillance footage showed the teenager leaving the business after being questioned about water bottles.
According to the state’s witness, Carmack-Belton ran from Chow and his son before the shooting.
During the trial, Solicitor Byron E. Gipson placed a water bottle in front of the jury. NBC News reported he said that Chow “at the end of the day, believed that a human is not more than that.”
The family’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, addressed the media after the verdict.
“The anger is palpable tonight. You can feel it. You can touch it because people saw a child that looked like their own,” Rutherford said. “A child that all the witnesses described had fear in his eyes when he left the store.”
“Nobody testified that happened that doesn’t have the last name Chow,” Gipson said.
Carmack-Belton’s death sent shock waves through the Black community, leaving many to question the outcome of the trial.
Our reporter asked Swerling, who is a white Jewish man, if he or anyone else on the defense team consulted a member of the Black community.
“No, because I think it’s just world experience. I’ve practiced law for 50 years, and you know when you see it,” he replied. “I’m Jewish and very sensitive to racial issues.”
When asked about the lawsuit the family was filing, Swerling told the Atlanta Black Star they had been claiming to file a lawsuit since 2023.
The civil lawsuit has not yet been filed.
“He owes for what he did to Cyrus,” Rutherford said. “He owes for what he did to the family. He owes for what he did to this community.”
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Rutherford and Gipson for comment on the verdict. We have yet to hear back.
