Columbia mall shooter cites self defense, seeks immunity from prosecution. Judge to decide
A man charged in a 2022 mass shooting at Columbiana Centre is asking a judge to excuse his involvement under South Carolina’s Stand Your Ground law.
Jewayne Price — one of three suspects charged in the 2022 Columbiana Centre mass shooting — said he was acting in self defense when he fired at two people he said were out to harm him. Following two days of testimony in Lexington, Circuit Court Judge Walton McLeod heard closing arguments on Wednesday and gave lawyers in the case 15 days to submit briefs in support of their arguments. There is no indication when McLeod will render a decision.
Citing South Carolina’s Stand Your Ground law, Price’s lawyer, Todd Rutherford, said his client’s behavior was justified on April 16, 2022, when he fired 11 shots inside the Columbiana Centre mall.
A witness said Price “was being hunted like an animal,” Rutherford said during closing arguments. “At no point did anybody say that (the witness) was unreasonable. At no point did anybody say that (the witness) could not have perceived what exactly she saw. You can see (the witness) on the camera diving into the store to get away from everything that happens.
“My client says that he received the threats, and an independent witness saw him receive that threat,” Rutherford said.
On Easter weekend in 2022, a total of 14 people, ranging in age from 15 to 73, were injured during theshooting at the mall in Harbison. Three suspects — Marquise Love Robinson, Amari Sincere-Jamal Smith, and Price — were indicted on a flurry of charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a handgun.
11th Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard said Price’s self defense claim was unreasonable because he fired first. Price said that he let Robinson get close to him and that he pulled his weapon first and shot at him first, Hubbard told McLeod.
Price is facing two counts of attempted murder, nine counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and unlawful carry of a pistol, as concealed weapons were prohibited in Columbiana Centre.
Of those injured in the shooting, nine were hit by gunfire and five others were hurt as people fled to the exits, according to the Columbia Police Department.
After the shooting, Police Chief Skip Holbrook said he believed the suspects all knew each other, and that the shooting was not a random act of violence.
Hubbard suggested that Price was acting within a gang “culture,” where “disrespect” wasn’t tolerated. That culture, Hubbard said, resulted in the mall shooting, to which Price was the primary aggressor.
No evidence submitted during this week’s pretrial immunity hearing proved that Price was ever a part of a gang, according to both Hubbard and Rutherford.
