Three teens died in Rock Hill shootout. The only adult gunman involved sent to prison
A South Carolina man involved in a 2022 shootout in Rock Hill between rival groups where three teens died has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to prosecutors and court records.
Chris’tavious Xavier Jiquion Caldwell, 23, pleaded guilty in York County court Friday to voluntary manslaughter and attempted murder in the Gist Road shooting. His case was scheduled for trial Monday but he pleaded guilty before a trial started.
York County Circuit Judge Bill McKinnon sentenced Caldwell Monday after Caldwell pleaded guilty in a negotiated agreement between prosecutors and Caldwell’s lawyer, said 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony.
Caldwell had previously been charged with murder, attempted murder, and other charges.
Caldwell pleaded guilty under an Alford plea, Anthony said. An Alford plea is where a defendant does not have to admit guilt but accepts he would likely be found guilty by a jury if the case went to trial.
Prosecutor: Caldwell allegedly turned on his friends
Around 10 p.m. on April 26, 2022, Caldwell and three others — a 16-year-old girl and two teenage boys — went to Gist Road in a car where three other teens were in a second car, Anthony said.
The Rock Hill Police Department investigation included finding doorbell camera video from a house across the street from the shooting scene, according to police and prosecutors.
Two of the teens in the first car — Kam’ran Brevard, 16, and Evanta Hart, 17, fired at the second car, killing Omarian Small, 16, according to Anthony. One of the others in the second car was wounded.
People in the second car also shot at the first car, and Hart and Bevard were wounded, Anthony said.
Caldwell — who was in the first car earlier with Hart and Brevard — then shot Hart; it appeared Caldwell turned on his friends, Anthony said. Hart and Brevard were both wounded and lying outside the car.
Both Hart and Brevard died when one of the teens in the second car — who had been shot and injured — then shot and killed both of them, according to Anthony, previous court testimony and court documents from a previous hearing.
Arrests and prosecutions
Caldwell was originally charged with Small’s murder because he was part of the original plot to shoot at the people in the first car, Anthony said. The voluntary manslaughter charge he pleaded guilty to is for Small’s death.
He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the shooting of Hart before Hart was later killed, Anthony said. Prosecutors believe Caldwell shot Hart with a motive of choosing one rival group over another, Anthony said.
Police arrested Caldwell in Chester County in June 2022, more than a month after the shootout, and he has been in the York County jail ever since. He receives credit for 1,013 days in custody pending disposition of his case, records show.
He has previous gun-related convictions from both South Carolina and North Carolina, Anthony said.
Caldwell’s lawyer, Matthew Niemiec, declined to comment Monday.
The teen who shot both Hart and Brevard after they were wounded pleaded guilty as a juvenile in Family Court to voluntary manslaughter for Hart’s death after he was initially charged as an adult, according to prosecutors, documents, and court records. A judge granted him “stand your ground” immunity in the other death.
The case against the 16-year-old girl who allegedly drove Caldwell and the other two to the scene remains pending in Family Court, prosecutors said.
