{"id":845,"date":"2026-06-02T08:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:36:55","slug":"rick-chow-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-cyrus-carmack-belton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845","title":{"rendered":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Richland County jury acquitted former convenience store owner Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. The verdict came late Monday after nearly nine hours of deliberation in a case that drew widespread attention.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=843\">Not guilty. Rick Chow absolved of accusation he wrongfully killed a 14-year-old.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>FULL STORY: Not guilty. Rick Chow absolved of accusation he wrongfully killed a 14-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=841\">Irmo mourns a community \u2018staple,\u2019 McDonald\u2019s worker known for her kindness<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Here are key takeaways:<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chow, then 58, shot Carmack-Belton around 8 p.m. on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023, after he, his wife and his son suspected the teen of stealing four bottles of water from their store. Chow was charged with murder 15 hours later.<\/li>\n<li>Jurors began deliberating around 12:15 p.m. Monday and twice returned with notes, including a request for clarification on the legal definition of malice. Circuit Court Judge Heath Taylor instructed them to continue into the evening.<\/li>\n<li>The defense argued Chow acted to protect his son, Andy, who they said was chased and had a 9 mm handgun pointed at him by Carmack-Belton during the 130-yard pursuit from the Shell gas station.<\/li>\n<li>Prosecutors countered that Carmack-Belton was a scared 14-year-old who ran out of his shoe and dropped two cell phones while fleeing. They cited forensic testimony showing the bullet entered his lower back and traveled upward into his heart.<\/li>\n<li>5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson told jurors that no witness \u201cwithout the last name Chow\u201d testified that Andy withdrew from the confrontation by raising his hands before the fatal shot was fired.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=840\">SC native Peabo Bryson, famous Disney music singer, undergoing care for a stroke<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Richland County jury acquitted Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton outside a Columbia store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Richland County jury acquitted Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton outside a Columbia store.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"headline\":\"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845\",\"name\":\"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=845#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Moving Experts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts","og_description":"A Richland County jury acquitted Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton outside a Columbia store.","og_url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845","og_site_name":"US Moving Experts","article_published_time":"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"headline":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton","datePublished":"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845"},"wordCount":322,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845","name":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton - US Moving Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-02T08:36:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/da821a900d3db2dd37a79b07109eca83.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=845#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rick Chow found not guilty in shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/","name":"US Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}