Horry County murder case ruled Stand Your Ground being appealed. What we know
A Horry County murder case is being appealed after a judge ruled that the shooter has immunity under South Carolina’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 Surfside Beach in 2020.
However, a judge ruled in 2023 that Yarnell acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Pennington, granting Yarnell’s motion for immunity.
It was reported that Yarnell shot at Pennington after he allegedly approached Yarnell’s vehicle and tried to get inside through a partially-rolled down window. Yarnell remained in his vehicle during the argument and shooting, court records say.
Evidence and witness statements showed that Pennington also tried to open the vehicle door to get to Yarnell, court records say. The court ruled that Yarnell did nothing to provoke the attack on him while he was in his vehicle.
The Horry County Solicitor’s Office appealed the ruling, stating that “with the windows up and the guy being unarmed, it shouldn’t be Stand Your Ground,” said 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. “We looked at the facts and said that is not reasonable to believe you are in reasonable fear.”
Morgan Martin, attorney for Yarnell, said that there was a lengthy and explorative hearing where the judge determined that Yarnell, who was acting within the perimeters of Stand Your Ground, was entitled to immunity under the law.
The appeal is pending.
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 law has become the center of another South Carolina case that has received national attention after two men, including a North Myrtle Beach businessman, shot and killed a North Carolina man along a Horry County roadway in 2023.
Weldon Boyd, owner of Buoys on the Boulevard, and his friend, Kenneth “Bradley” Williams, shot and killed Scott Spivey, 33, Sept. 9, 2023, on Camp Swamp Road in what police have labeled a road rage incident.
Boyd and Williams have avoided criminal charges after law enforcement agencies determined the shooting self-defense, but evidence made public after Spivey’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the two has cast doubt on that assertion.
A hearing next month will determine whether they will receive immunity for their actions.
If a judge rules that the shooting does fall under the Stand Your Ground law, both men would be immune from further criminal prosecution or civil actions.
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 10:42 AM.
