Man convicted of shooting woman in chest and another man in neck, SC prosecutor says
A Columbia man was recently convicted of shooting two people who were leaving a birthday party, South Carolina officials said.
On Feb. 28, a Richland County jury convicted 32-year-old Jaquan King of two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said Tuesday in a news release.
Following the 5-day trial, King was sentenced to 30 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison on the attempted murder charges, according to the release. He was also ordered to serve a consecutive 5-year sentence on the weapon charge, the solicitor’s office said.
The shooting happened Aug. 1, 2021, in the parking lot of Tsubaki Restaurant Lounge at 224 O’Neil Court, according to the release. That’s in a part of Columbia between Two Notch Road and Interstate 20.
King was waiting by his car in the restaurant’s parking lot as the victims’ families walked to their vehicles following the male victim’s birthday dinner, the solicitor’s office said.
A verbal dispute began after King and his friends made disrespectful comments toward the male victim’s female family member, and then King went to his car to get a gun, according to the release. As people attempted to diffuse the situation, King shot the female victim in her chest and the male victim in his neck and thigh before driving away, the solicitor’s office said.
Both victims survived the shooting, according to the release. Further information on their conditions was not available.
A witness took a picture of the car King was driving, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department traced the vehicle back to King, the solicitor’s office said. Based on King’s connection to the car and witnesses’ descriptions, the sheriff’s department identified King as the shooter, and he was arrested, according to the release.
Assistant Solicitor Stephanie Taylor, Senior Assistant Solicitor Dale Scott and Assistant Solicitor Nick Fowler prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Columbia attorney Aimee Zmroczek was listed as King’s lawyer, Richland County court records show.
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This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Man convicted of shooting woman in chest and another man in neck, SC prosecutor says."
