Another man accused of mass shooting at the Columbiana Mall has pleaded guilty

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (WIS) – Amari Smith, one of the three men charged in 2022 mass shootings at Columbiana Centre, pleaded guilty.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and nine counts of aggravated and aggravated assault and battery, according to his attorney, Harrill Deas.

The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office confirmed Smith’s request.

The decision came a day after Jevain Price, Smith’s co-defendant, was found guilty on all counts in connection with the shooting. Price’s defense attorney, Todd Rutherford, tried to argue that Price’s involvement in the shooting was motivated by self-defense and that he feared for his life.

“None of them have any means of self-defense,” Rick Hubbard, the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor, said during closing arguments in Price’s trial. “All three swim in the same water. They created this situation.”

The shooting occurred in April 2022, when three people allegedly fired a gun at a shopping mall, injuring 14 people, nine of whom were injured. The youngest victim of the shooting was 15 years old.

Prosecutors in Price’s trial said the shooting was the result of a feud between Price and Smith, and a third co-defendant, Marquis Robinson, over the 2018 slaying of a Lower Richland High School athlete.

Robinson’s trial will take place next week, with testimony expected to begin on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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