16-year-old girl facing murder charge in Rock Hill robbery remains jailed
A 16-year-old South Carolina girl who did not pull the trigger but is charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend during an alleged robbery in Rock Hill will remain in a juvenile jail, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Visiting Judge Tarita Dunbar agreed with prosecutors at a hearing in York County Family Court to keep the girl detained in the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.
The girl’s lawyer, Montrio Belton of Rock Hill, said in court the girl is not the shooter and asked that the girl be released to family or another facility rather than be kept in jail.
Za’veon Heath, 18, of Catawba, died in the Feb. 20 shooting that happened after 2 a.m. in a parking deck on Elizabeth Lane near downtown Rock Hill, according to police and the York County Coroner.
A 15-year-old boy was the intended robbery victim of a plot hatched by the girl and Heath, who was armed, police said. The boy fired the gun that killed Heath, Rock Hill Police Department Detective Dustin Ochiltree said in court.
The 16-year-old girl is charged with murder because she “directly contributed” to Heath’s death during a violent crime, Ochiltree said .
She also is charged with attempted armed robbery and conspiracy, prosecutor Whitney Payne said.
The girl was in court Tuesday but did not speak. The Herald is not identifying her because of her age.
Dunbar also issued a court order during a hearing covered by many media outlets that the girl not be identified, photographed, or videotaped in court.
The 15-year-old boy is charged with possession of a pistol by someone under age 18. The Herald is not identifying him.
Prosecutor and police: Girl planned the robbery
Ochiltree testified police found messages dating back days that showed the girl trying to set a meeting to rob the 15-year-old.
The initial call to police on Feb. 20 claimed Heath fell in the parking deck, but responding officers found he had been shot, Ochiltree said.
Payne told the judge the girl was involved in the robbery plot. The seriousness of the crime demands the girl be kept jailed, Payne argued.
“For the public’s safety, she needs to remain in detention,” Payne said .
Defense: The girl watched her friend killed
Belton argued that a young man lost his life and that fact is not lost on him and the girl’s family. However, the girl, who he said “is a child,” is “cloaked in the presumption of innocence” just days after her arrest.
He said the girl is “deeply remorseful” in the death of Heath, whom Belton said was her close friend.
The girl and her family went to police with information about the incident afterward and she was cooperative, Belton said.
And more, the girl never had a gun and did not fire a gun, Belton said.
“She was not the shooter,” Belton said.
The girl also has no previous criminal record, Belton said. He said she has “been through a traumatic event” and would benefit from treatment options that would be more easily obtained if she were released.
The girl’s parents were in court Tuesday. The girl’s mother told the judge she wanted to give her condolences to Heath’s family members who were sitting on the other side of the courtroom.
“My heart aches,” the girl’s mother said.
She said her daughter “has a good heart.” Like Belton, the mother said, her daughter is “very remorseful.”
What happens next?
Tuesday’s hearing was only about whether the girl remained jailed.
Under South Carolina juvenile law, the girl can have at least two more detention hearings in the next month in which she can ask to be released.
The 15-year-old boy who faces possession of a pistol by someone under age 18 waived a detention hearing Tuesday and did not appear in court, said Payne, the prosecutor. He remains in state juvenile custody, she said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 5:05 PM.
