SC court upholds Stand Your Ground immunity in Horry County deadly shooting
The South Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that a man charged in a fatal shooting in Surfside Beach six years ago has immunity under the state’s Stand Your Ground law.
Anijah Yarnell was charged with murder in the shooting death of Michael W. Pennington III, 33, in an apartment parking lot in 2020. A judge ruled in 2023 that Yarnell acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Pennington, granting Yarnell’s motion for immunity.
The Horry County Solicitor’s Office appealed the ruling, arguing that the circuit court “abused its discretion” by finding Yarnell was without fault in the shooting. The Solicitor’s Office claimed Yarnell was engaged in unlawful activity and was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.
The circuit court found that Yarnell did not provoke Pennington’s attack and was not at fault in bringing on the attack, according to the court of appeals ruling filed on June 3, 2026. Yarnell believed he was in imminent danger of being killed or seriously injured, the ruling stated.
South Carolina’s Protection of Persons and Property Act, often referred to as the “Stand Your Ground” law, allows people to use force, including deadly force, to protect themselves against a perceived threat. South Carolina’s law specifically eliminated the duty to retreat when a person is somewhere they have a right to be.
The court of appeals ruling said that evidence supports the circuit court’s finding that Yarnell was not engaged in unlawful activity at the time of the shooting.
It is unclear whether the case will be appealed to the state Supreme Court. The state Attorney General’s Office will decide whether to appeal, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said via text.
The Attorney General’s Office is reviewing the opinion and record to determine whether further appeal will be taken, according to an email from Communications Director Robert Kittle. The next step, if one should be taken, would be a petition for rehearing, which would be due 15 days from the date of the opinion, Kittle said.
What happened
Yarnell was in a romantic relationship with Remington “Remi” Hargrove. On May 14, 2020, the couple got into an argument via text message, court records show.
Later that night, Yarnell, after driving to an apartment complex to drop off Hargrove’s items became involved in an argument with Michael Pennington, the boyfriend of Hargrove’s cousin, court records say.
Yarnell then produced a handgun, fatally shot Pennington through a partially lowered window and drove away, court records say.
It was reported that Yarnell shot at Pennington after he allegedly approached Yarnell’s vehicle and tried to get inside through the partially open window. Yarnell remained in his vehicle during the argument and shooting, court records say.
The court ruled that Yarnell did nothing to provoke the attack while he was in his vehicle.
“We acknowledge Yarnell engaged in questionable behavior by his obsessive attempts to contact [Hargrove] and his demeaning text messages to her,” the court of appeals ruling said. “However, no evidence was presented that Yarnell expressly threatened [Hargrove]. … Further, the evidence is uncontroverted that Yarnell was occupying his own personal vehicle and that Pennington had no right to be in his vehicle.”
