Rock Hill juvenile charged in Instagram murder case must remain in jail, judge says
Citing concerns for community safety, a judge has ruled that a Rock Hill juvenile will remain in jail. The juvenile is one of four teens charged with murder in a man’s death linked to discipline over use of Instagram.
York County Family Court Judge David Guyton said in a detention hearing Tuesday that the teen will remain in custody to protect the public because of the seriousness of the charges. The judge also pointed to the teen’s involvement in around 10 incidents of violence while in jail since being arrested in November.
Prosecutors are seeking to try the juvenile and the three other co-defendants as adults in the November 2022 killing of Larry Ingram Jr. at a Rock Hill apartment complex.
The 14-year-old at Tuesday’s detention hearing has been jailed at the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice since the killing. The teen allegedly had a shank-like weapon in his room, assaulted an officer, and was involved in several fights where other teens were kicked, punched and stomped, Guyton said in court.
Two incidents at the juvenile jail where the teen is housed were described by Guyton as “riots” where outside police rapid response teams had to be called to quell the violence.
“The citizens of this county need to be protected,” Guyton said Tuesday. “There is a record of violent conduct. This involves the safety of others and the community.”
The Herald is not naming the suspect who was in court Tuesday, nor any of the suspects, because of their ages and Family Court judges’ orders not to identify them.
The Herald also is not describing the relationship between the victim and suspects.
The alleged crime
Rock Hill police and York County prosecutors have said Ingram, 38, took away laptop computers used by the teenagers on Nov. 14, 2022. The suspects then schemed to kill Ingram later in the day because they were unhappy with the discipline, police have testified. Ingram was lured into a hallway at his apartment and fatally shot, police and prosecutors allege.
The weapon allegedly used in the shooting was improperly taken by one of the suspects from an adult relative, police previously testified in court.
Three of the four teen defendants were age 14 at the time of the incident, and the fourth was age 15, officials said after all four were arrested.
Detention hearing in court
All four teens have been in DJJ custody since their arrests. Only one was in court Tuesday for a detention hearing.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, 16th Circuit Senior Assistant Solicitor Whitney Payne and S.C. DJJ officials both asked Judge Guyton to keep the teen in custody.
The DJJ reports of fights since the teen has been in custody give prosecutors “cause for great concern” over public safety if the teen were to be released before trial, Payne said.
The teen’s lawyer, Twana Burris-Alcide, argued in court the teen also had been a victim of incidents at the DJJ jail since arrest.
The teen has received threat letters to keep silent since being jailed, Burris-Alcide said.
The teen also has cooperated with police during the investigation and later provided important information after initially not being forthcoming, Burris-Alcide said.
“He cooperated and his statements were corroborated,” Burris-Alcide said.
What happens now?
The teens have not yet had a trial.
DJJ and court officials are assessing each juvenile concerning the effort by prosecutors to try them as adults. The process can take several months, officials have said.
If the teens face trial as juveniles, punishment for any conviction would end at age 21.
If prosecutors are successful in getting a Family Court judge to allow the teens to face trial as adults, any conviction for murder could carry a minimum of 30 years in prison. All four teens also are charged with felony conspiracy in the alleged murder plot.
Lawyers for the teens are expected to fight prosecutors attempts to have the case moved to adult court.
No date has been set for Family Court hearings concerning whether the teens face juvenile or adult trials.
This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 8:49 AM.
