SC girl, 16, set up her boyfriend before fatal Rock Hill shooting, prosecutors say
A 16-year-old girl facing a murder charge plotted with an older male friend to rob her 15-year-old boyfriend in Rock Hill, according to statements by a prosecutor in court Tuesday. But the younger boy shot the older male robbing him.
Prosecutors say she spent days planning the robbery against her boyfriend and was there when the shooting happened.
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.
The girl had a second Family Court appearance Tuesday on charges of murder, attempted armed robbery, and conspiracy. She’s been jailed since after the shooting and was denied release at a first hearing in late February. Tuesday’s hearing was about whether she should remain jailed.
Visiting Judge Coreen Khoury ruled it is in the best interest of the girl and the safety of the community that she stay in a S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice jail in Columbia.
The shooter — who was the intended robbery victim — only faces a charge of possession of a pistol by someone under age 18. Prosecutor Whitney Payne said the police investigation so far shows the boy fired the shot in self-defense.
Defense: Girl “completely cooperated” with police
Her lawyer, Montrio Belton, asked Khoury that the girl be released to family. He said she never had a gun or fired a gun, then talked with police and admitted involvement. The girl gave police her cellphone, Belton said.
“She completely cooperated,” Belton said.
He questioned whether murder is an appropriate charge when the girl is not the shooter. He said the only charge against the 15-year-old is being in possession of a pistol by a minor, so he is under the assumption “the state is viewing it as a justified killing or a self-defense.”
Prosecutor: Girl plotted the robbery, should stay jailed
Payne argued the girl and the armed older male who died planned for days to rob the girl’s boyfriend of a gun. Text messages on the girl’s cellphone showed the robbery plan, Payne said. The girl went with the would-be robbery victim to the parking deck where the shooting happened, Payne said.
Prosecutors claim she knew the gun was there and available for use in the robbery, Payne said.
“She is guilty of at least an attempted armed robbery that led to the murder,” Payne said in court.
What happens next?
Prosecutors have until late March to decide if they will seek to have the girl face an adult trial rather than keep the case in juvenile court.
If the case stays in Family Court, any sentences for convictions, even for murder, would end at age 22. If the girl is convicted in adult court, sentences are far more severe.
The girl and her lawyer would have the right to fight any attempt to prosecute her as an adult. A Family Court judge would have to order the girl be tried as an adult before she could face adult charges.
The 15-year-old charged with the weapon offense has not made a court appearance since arrest.
