15-year-old faces SC murder trial as adult. He allegedly shot teen many times in Conway
A 15-year-old who shot and killed another teenager last year will stand trial as an adult for murder, according to the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Damien Rodriguez, now 15, was charged with murder and attempted murder of two juveniles on Aug. 13.
Rodriguez was charged in the death of Christopher Noah Garrett.
A Family Court judge ruled Thursday that the teen can be tried as an adult in the case, the solicitor’s office said in a statement Friday morning.
The State filed a motion to move Rodiguez’s case to General Sessions Court, said Caroline Fox, senior assistant solicitor who prosecuted the case in Family Court, in the statement.
After a hearing, the Family Court Judge Holly Wall determined that the charges should be waived to General Sessions court.
No immediate hearings are scheduled at this time.
Garrett, who was 14, was shot multiple times by another juvenile, who was not identified at the time, according to police reports.
Officers with the Horry County Police Department responded to reports of shots fired on Barons Bluff Road in Conway, an incident report stated.
An officer on scene was directed to a wooded area, where the unnamed juvenile was on his back with multiple bleeding wounds, according to the report.
It is not clear what led to the shooting.
This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 8:40 AM.
