Rock Hill teen got 50 years prison for 2 murders. No prison for mom who hid evidence
A mother will not go to prison after trying to help her son avoid being arrested by police during a 2019 murder investigation, according to court officials and records.
Nikkiyah Latrice Alston, 45, pleaded guilty Friday in York County criminal court to obstruction of justice, according to court records and lawyers in the case. Visiting Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons sentenced Alston to 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service. A three-year prison sentence was suspended.
Alston could have faced as much as 10 years in prison.
Alston is the mother of Rock Hill teen Sam Saadiq Robinson who was sentenced to 50 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to two murders in 2019.
Caught on video
Sixteenth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Willy Thompson said Alston was caught on video at the Rock Hill Police Department helping her son change pants while in a police interview room hours after the shooting deaths of Zuinquarius McCrorey, 20, and Malik McCullough, 23.
At the time in 2019, Robinson was 16 years old and had asked that his mother be present when he was interviewed by police, Thompson said.
Alston had her son remove the outer-layer of sweatpants from two pairs he was wearing, Thompson said. The pants were kept from police to avoid testing for evidence, Thompson said. Police did get gunshot residue and blood from a sweatshirt, Thompson said.
“She clearly was trying to keep the police from gathering potential gunshot residue and other evidence from the outside sweatpants,” Thompson said after court. “She told him to switch the pants.”
Thompson agreed in a plea agreement with Alston’s lawyer that Alston’s actions were criminal and should have consequences, but probation was appropriate.
“It is not illegal for a parent to care for a child,” Thompson said after court. “It is illegal to hide evidence.”
Actions slowed investigation
Police did not have enough evidence at the time of the interview, on the day of the killings in February 2019, and Robinson was released, Thompson said. Days later the video was reviewed and Alston’s actions in the video room were seen by police, Thompson said. She was charged with obstruction immediately after the video surfaced.
Her son had fled to Charlotte after the interview and was arrested for the killings when police had other evidence including DNA.
Alston’s lawyer, Montrio Belton, said after court Friday that Alston took responsibility for her actions. Alston has no prior criminal record and was acting as a concerned mother when she made a decision that was wrong, Belton said.
“What she did was clearly illegal, and none of us condone or excuse what she did,” Belton said after court. “But all of us who are parents, many would understand her behavior. The court took that into consideration.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 12:59 PM.
