Man sentenced to life in Richland County nightclub killing
April 1, 2026
A Richland County jury convicted James Alterique White of murder on March 26. The Honorable Heath Taylor sentenced the 27-year-old to life without the possibility of parole in a South Carolina Department of Corrections facility.
Video footage captured a drive-by shooting outside a nightclub on Fairfield Road on the morning of Dec. 12, 2021. The victim, who was visiting Columbia for the first time, stepped outside the club to leave when White fired 10 shots from a car stopped in the road toward the nightclub.
One bullet hit the victim in the abdomen, and she died shortly afterward. Eyewitnesses identified the shooter as the passenger in the car that stopped in front of the club.
Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigators identified White through surveillance footage from the club, social media research, and eyewitness accounts. White and the victim did not know each other.
The Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office led the prosecution. Assistant Solicitors Stephanie Taylor, Paul Walton, and Drake Thompson prosecuted the case. RCSD Captain John Carwell led the investigation.