Music rivalry didn’t fuel Vista shooting that injured 8, attorney says

The shootout that injured eight people in Columbia’s popular Vista district last month was not related to a music industry beef, according to police and an attorney representing one of the defendants.

“With all due respect to Sheriff Lott, he’s absolutely off target with this,” Columbia defense attorney John Delgado said of statements that the mayhem was fueled by a music-industry related argument between two groups.

Eight people were injured in the violence that shook the Vista when gunfire erupted outside the Empire Supper Club on Lady Street in the early hours of Sept. 16.

John Earl Bates Jr., one of four Newberry County men charged in the case, is facing seven counts of attempted murder. Bates, a musician, performed at the Empire club right before the shooting. Hours after the Vista shooting, he was shot in the leg at the Vault nightclub on Broad River Road.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in the days after the shootings that a music industry-related beef had fueled the violence. A Columbia police spokeswoman said Thursday that investigators do not believe the shooting was related to the music industry.

“I don’t know how that got started,” Delgado said, noting a Columbia police investigator’s testimony during a preliminary hearing Wednesday. “There’s nothing to that.”

Lott declined to comment when reached Thursday.

Delgado also dismissed the notion that the shooting was gang-related.

“There are no organized gangs in Newberry,” he said. “None.”

A judge found probable cause to proceed with the cases against Bates and Jarvis Tucker. Earlier this week, a judge found probable cause to proceed with the case against Maleik Houseal, who also faces a federal charge stemming from the shooting.

A preliminary hearing in state court for Keveas Gallman, who faces attempted murder and weapon charges, will be held Nov. 6.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Music rivalry didn’t fuel Vista shooting that injured 8, attorney says."