Man gets immunity under SC ‘stand your ground’ law in Fort Mill gas station shooting
A South Carolina judge has granted a man immunity from prosecution in a fatal Fort Mill gas station shooting, court documents show.
York County Judge William McKinnon has dismissed charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime against Anquante El-Malik Lemel Watts. The court ruling addressed a February 2021 shooting outside a Circle K gas station at the corner of U.S. 21 and Sutton Road, a court order states.
Watts sought immunity under South Carolina’s Protection of Persons and Property Act, the order states. The Herald obtained a copy of the judge’s written order.
McKinnon wrote that under South Carolina law, the person has “the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime.“
Sy’Veon My’Veon Howard, 25, of Lancaster, died in the February 2021 shooting, according to the order.
A court hearing was held in January 2023 on the claim for immunity, court records show.
McKinnon ruled that Watts did not have to retreat when others approached a vehicle that Watts and another person were in, the judge’s order stated. Others outside the car were armed, the judge stated in the written order.
The January 2023 immunity hearing featured surveillance video from the store that shows the incident, the judge’s order states.
“Defendant was not engaged in any unlawful activity and was in a place he had a right to be -- the premises of a gas station open to the public,” McKinnon’s ruling stated. “In sum, Defendant was peaceably in his vehicle at a gas station, when three men charged his vehicle from two different directions.”
Watts’ lawyer, Zach Merritt, partner at MLB Law in Rock Hill, argued Watts acted in self-defense, court records show.
Watts testified in the 2023 hearing. Fort Mill police and a female passenger in the car also testified at the January 2023 hearing, the order stated.
Watts was arrested days after the shooting, the order states.
Merritt issued a written statement days after the judge issued the order granting immunity and dismissing the charges.
“It has been one of the great honors of my career to represent Mr. Watts through this difficult process,” Merritt stated. “Even though it took over two years, we take comfort in the fact that the system ultimately gave us the just result that Mr. Watts deserves.”
“Even though Mr. Watts’ split second decision to use a firearm was justified by the Protection of Persons and Property Act and likely saved his life and the life of his girlfriend, my client deeply sympathizes with Mr. Howard’s family and will carry this unfortunate loss of life with him for the rest of his days,” the statement from Merritt said.
York County prosecutors opposed the immunity claim at the January hearing, the order stated.
Prosecutors under South Carolina law have the right to appeal the judge’s ruling to a higher court. Sixteenth Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony said prosecutors do not intend to appeal the judge’s decision.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:27 AM.
