COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A former Columbia gas station owner has been denied immunity in a 2023 case involving the murder of a teen, ensuring that he will be going to trial.

A circuit court ruled Wednesday that Rick Chow was not immune from prosecution under South Carolina’s stand your ground law in the 2023 death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. He was also denied bond.

Chow is accused of fatally shooting Carmack-Belton in the back after chasing the teen from his gas station on Parklane Road. Chow and his attorneys argued he shot Carmack-Belton in an act of self-defense after his son reportedly saw a gun on him.

Chow did not take the stand in a pre-trial hearing that began Monday, but the judge did hear his perspective through body camera footage from the night of the incident.

He w

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