North Charleston, South Carolina – Four men received reduced terms for a 2021 mass shooting that killed a 14-year-old girl, disappointing the victim’s family and investigators.
The incident on May 22, 2021, killed Ronjanae Smith and injured 14 others.
The men faced manslaughter and multiple assault counts, which could have resulted in life terms. Instead, prosecutors allowed them to plead guilty to considerably lower counts, citing a lack of evidence and witness reliability difficulties.
“The system failed us again,” Ronald Smith, Ronjanae Smith’s father, stated. “I’m angry, it ain’t right.”
The shooting
Hundreds of young people gathered outside on Gaillard Lane in North Charleston on a Saturday night in May 2021.
Legal filings state that two girls arguing near the stage tripped the light source. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the darkness, killing 15 individuals, including two suspects.
“Out of the 14 people, 9 females, young ladies, were victimized,” then-North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess explained. “Ronjanae Smith passed away. May she rest peacefully.”
Reduced charges
When the cases came to court, the charges were significantly reduced from the initial counts:
Tyquan Cooper pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and four charges of aggravated assault and battery. Nine additional accusations were dismissed.
Tye Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and battery. Thirteen additional charges were dismissed.
Manqual Horlbeck, who was also hurt in the incident, pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault and battery. Thirteen additional charges were dismissed.
Malachi Wigfall pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated breach of the peace.
Evidence Challenges
The prosecutor’s office indicated in a memorandum that the case was unwinnable due to a “lack of evidence” and “severe witness credibility” concerns, which prohibited a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
Only around 30 of the hundreds who attended the event cooperated with authorities, according to the memorandum. Investigators discovered almost 100 expended bullet casings at the location, but no DNA or fingerprints were found.
According to the analysis, the casings were from six distinct caliber firearms with 22 different headstamps. Police retrieved six firearms, including one that fired six shots near the stage and was discovered in a vehicle leaving the scene with Cooper, although it contained a mix of three people’s DNA.
When scared attendees attempted to flee, they trampled and drove over evidence, jeopardizing the investigation.
Quick return to jail.
Wigfall was freed from jail on September 18th, after serving four years. Despite probation requirements requiring him to remain out of trouble, he was detained again on a drug charge on October 3 and freed the next day.
“Why is it that people that are accused of these crimes are allowed to come back into our community and seems without any kind of or once again a minimum penalty placed on them?” Thomas Dixon, a neighborhood activist, stated.
According to defense attorney Brady Vannoy, probation infractions result in separate judicial difficulties that require time to resolve through the court system.
“A lot of times, they can’t get the paperwork done quick enough for a judge to determine whether or not they need to stay in jail based on their violations,” Vannoy told me.
Ronjanae’s mother, Katrina Sinclair, stated that no penalty would bring her daughter back.
“Ten, twelve, fifteen, and twenty years will never be enough for me or my baby. To be honest with you, a life has been robbed from me,” she stated.
