Jury deliberation to continue Saturday for Chester councilman’s accused killer

Was it murder or self-defense?

That’s the question a Fairfield County jury is weighing in the case of Christopher Moore, 19, who is charged with fatally shooting Chester City Councilman Odell Williams in 2014.

Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon after hearing closing arguments from both sides of the case. At 5 p.m. Friday, the jury requested to break for the evening and continue deliberations Saturday morning.

Williams, 69, was shot in the head while chasing a pickup carrying the five co-defendants the night of Nov. 4, 2014. He crashed his burgundy Cadillac coupe into a home on Roundtree Circle, and was later pronounced dead at Chester Regional Medical Center.

Prosecutors have said Moore was waiting at the entrance to Roundtree Circle and ambushed the city councilman and retired police officer, who had been the pursuing the truck across town, as he turned onto the horseshoe-shaped street.

Williams started following the pickup as it left Featherstone Road after a robbery attempt by the suspects fell through that night, according to testimony this week.

Defense lawyers argued Moore shot Williams in self-defense after Williams fired multiple gunshots at the truck while chasing it across town. Before testimony began this week, Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch denied a defense motion for immunity from prosecution under South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

6th Circuit Deputy Public Defender William Frick said during closing arguments that “we wouldn’t be here today” if Williams hadn’t followed and shot at the pickup.

“Chris Moore made bad choices that night, but Odell made choices too, and his choices count,” Frick said. “... If he’d have simply not followed the car, these guys wouldn’t have done anything. They would have gone home.”

Moore, who is also charged with possession of a firearm during a violent crime, was on probation at the time of the shooting and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm. He testified Thursday he didn’t know where the SKS rifle came from but said he had shot it previously.

“Even if you’re not supposed to have the gun, you still have a right to defend yourself if someone’s shooting at you,” Frick said, later acknowledging that Moore “shouldn’t have had” the gun. “Odell decided to take matters into his own hands. He brought it. He brought the action. He’s at fault.”

6th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Julie Hall said the defense had resorted to blaming a man who couldn’t defend himself in court.

“What he’s doing is blaming the victim,” Hall said of Frick. “He’s got a lying client, and the only choice he has is to blame the victim.”

Hall contended that Moore shot Williams with malice aforethought, and implored jurors not to “fall for the lies” and the defense’s attempt to “confuse” them.

“He can form malice the moment he pulls the trigger for the first time,” Hall said, picking up the unloaded semi-automatic rifle and pulling the trigger 18 times to show jurors Moore had to make a decision the same number of times to pull the trigger.

Moore said repeatedly during his first interview with investigators that he had nothing to do with Williams’ killing and that he was in Rock Hill the night of the shooting. He admitted to shooting Williams while on the stand Thursday in what Hall called “ludicrous” testimony.

The trial was moved to Fairfield County after a judge determined the pre-trial publicity and media coverage the case has received would make it difficult to select an impartial jury in Chester County.

Jurors had a couple of questions while deliberating Friday. They asked to hear portions of the recorded testimony again and for Burch to re-instruct them on the definition of “self-defense.”

The jury will reconvene at 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Jury deliberation to continue Saturday for Chester councilman’s accused killer."