Columbiana mall shooting suspect convicted of most charges, acquitted of attempted murder
A second man tried in the 2022 mass shooting at Columbiana Centre mall has been convicted of nine counts of aggravated assault, but jurors acquitted him of attempted murder.
Marquise Robinson was one of three people charged in the shooting on Easter Weekend 2022 that injured 14 people, ages 15 to 73. The verdict was reached Thursday afternoon at the Lexington County Courthouse.
Robinson, Amari Sincere-Jamal Smith, and Jewayne Price were indicted on a slew of charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a handgun.
Late last month, a jury found Price guilty of two counts of attempted murder and nine counts of aggravated assault of a high and aggravated nature. Earlier this month, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and nine counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Robinson’s case differed from the others in that he didn’t shoot or injure anyone during the shootout.
But 11th Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard told jurors that didn’t matter because Robinson acted alongside Price and Smith, disregarding the safety of countless patrons by unlawfully carrying a firearm inside the mall.
Price, Robinson and Smith “brought hatred (into the mall),” said Hubbard, who prosecuted the case alongside Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes. “Hatred they had in their hearts going back four years. They brought that violent culture into this peaceful setting.”
Animosity between Price, Smith and Robinson stemmed from an incident four years earlier in 2018, when Amon Rice, 17, a friend of Robinson and Smith, was gunned down during a brawl among teenagers at a bus stop.
In that shooting, Price was charged with Rice’s death, but ultimately escaped prosecution.
Citing a legal theory known as mutual combat, Hubbard said Robinson was just as guilty as Price and Smith because he indirectly agreed to turn Columbiana Centre into a “combat zone.”
“Little kids will never want to go back to that mall again,” Hubbard told jurors. “They’ll always associate the Easter bunny with gunfire and a bad man.”
Shaun Kent, who led Robinson’s defense team that included Alexandra Benevento and Jack Furse, argued the state failed to present jurors with the whole story about what happened on that chaotic day in April 2022. He sarcastically referred to witnesses the prosecution never called to testify.
“And then you heard from Jewayne Price, Amari Smith, Amari Smith’s girlfriend, friends of Marquise Robinson,” Kent told the jury. “I’m sorry, you didn’t hear from any of those people. That’s strange, because wouldn’t we like to know the rest of the story?
“But instead, what we have is a movie script by the great state of South Carolina.”
A heated exchange broke out between Hubbard and Kent, as Kent implied racist innuendos were at play based on a witness offered by the state, who referred to Price, Robinson and Smith as “they.”
“I wonder what they mean by ‘they,’ Kent said. “Because that’s what we heard during (Hubbard’s) closing argument, they this, they that, these people, that’s what they do,” referring to gun violence. “Guess what? I grew up as a ‘they.’”
Hubbard quickly objected, saying the case wasn’t about “race.”
“Then you shouldn’t have made it about race!” Kent shout back.
“I didn’t! I didn’t!” Hubbard replied.
“I guess you’ve never been a called a they before, huh?” said Kent, who is Black.
“I have just now,” Hubbard retorted, suggesting that he was being called “one of them, a racist.”
Ultimately, the jury agreed with Hubbard that Robinson was just as responsible as Price and Smith for the injuries suffered by multiple shoppers in the mall that day. They did not find, however, that Robinson possessed the culpable intent to murder Price.
Smith, who was scheduled to stand trial following Price, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and nine counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to Hubbard.
Implying the strength of his case, Hubbard said his office “made no offers or deals” with any of the defendants, including Smith.
Judge Walton McLeod, who presided over the case, has not yet set a sentencing date for Price, Robinson, or Smith, something Hubbard said he and his office are waiting for.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 3:53 PM.
