Richland County Man Found Guilty of Shooting case from 2015
November 5, 2019
Thursday, October 24, 2019, a Richland County jury found Melvin James White guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter. The Honorable D. Craig Brown sentenced the Defendant to the maximum of 30 years in prison.
The Defendant was accused of killing 25 year old Antwain Caroline during the early morning hours of November 29, 2015. Defendant White had previously threatened to kill Mr. Caroline as he was leaving the home on November 28, 2015, where all 3 of them lived, because the Defendant felt that Mr. Caroline was being disrespectful to his mother. Upon Mr. Caroline’s return to the residence early the next morning, his mother went outside to speak with him; the Defendant grabbed his shotgun, went outside, and shot the victim in the chest. He died within a few minutes of being shot. The Defendant was arrested and charged with Murder; he admitted to shooting the victim, but claimed that he did it in self-defense.
After hearing testimony from several witnesses, including the victim’s mother and the Defendant, the jury found the Defendant guilty of the lesser charge of Voluntary Manslaughter. Shortly after the jury returned with their verdict, Judge Brown sentenced the Defendant to 30 years.
The State was represented at trial by Deputy Solicitor April Sampson and Assistant Solicitor Jacqueline Li.