Man charged in multiple shootings convicted in woman’s murder, SC officials say
A man who has been charged in multiple and separate violent crimes in Columbia was recently sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
On March 26, a Richland County jury convicted James Alterique White of murder, the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said Thursday in a news release. Judge Heath Taylor sentenced the 27-year-old White to life without the possibility of parole in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release.
The conviction stems from a Dec. 12, 2021 shooting where a Florida woman was killed at a Columbia bar, the solicitor’s office said.
The murder
Joyel T. Snell, a 45-year-old Fort Myers, Florida, resident, was “an innocent patron” who was shot in the upper body as she was leaving Felicity’s Bar at 7708 Fairfield Road, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance footage captured a drive-by shooting outside the nightclub, the solicitor’s office said in the release. Snell, 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, according to the release.
One bullet hit Snell in the abdomen, and she died shortly afterward, the solicitor’s office said.
Eyewitnesses identified the shooter as the passenger in the car that stopped in front of the club, according to the release. Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigators identified White through surveillance footage from the club, social media research and eyewitness accounts, the solicitor’s office said.
White and the victim did not know each other, according to the solicitor’s office.
More than a month after her death, White and Malcolm Clinton were arrested on murder charges and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said.
Clinton’s murder charge is pending, Richland County court records show. On Feb. 14, 2022, Clinton posted $100,000 bond, and he’s not currently listed on the jail’s inmate roster, according to records.
Assistant Solicitors Stephanie Taylor, Paul Walton, and Drake Thompson prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. After cycling through four other lawyers, White was ultimately represented by South Carolina attorney Ralph Wilson Jr.
A separate nightclub shooting
Snell’s death was not the first time that White was arrested in connection to a shooting.
White was charged in a previous club shooting in June 2021 and was free on bond for several previous charges when Snell was killed, the sheriff’s department said. White was granted a $175,000 surety bond after being charged with the attempted murder of a security guard at Hookah Lounge, 2700 Broad River Road, on May 2, 2021, according to the release.
The security guard was shot in the upper body and survived, the sheriff’s department said.
“White shot a security guard doing his job, was arrested and bonded out. Six months later he shoots and kills an innocent person,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in 2022. “Our community needs help.”
The charges from that shooting, including attempted murder, are pending, court records show.
Previous arrests
White was also free on bond for several weapons charges stemming from incidents about a month before the Hookah Lounge shooting, according to the sheriff’s department.
On March 12, 2021, White was apprehended after deputies attempted a traffic stop, and he led them on a short pursuit, the sheriff’s department said. He was charged with failure to stop for blue lights, simple possession of marijuana, driving under suspension, and use of a vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was released on a bond for this incident, according to the sheriff’s department.
Less than two weeks later, March 24, 2021, White was again arrested after deputies said they located him during a shots fired call. He was charged with simple possession of marijuana, unlawful carry of a pistol, and possession of a stolen pistol, according to the sheriff’s department.
White then posted a $15,000 surety bond, the sheriff’s department said.
The charges from both March 2021 arrests also are pending, according to court records.
Crime behind bars
After he was locked up, White continued to be charged with crimes.
In April 2023, White was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for stabbing another inmate inside the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s department.
The 30-year-old victim, who survived the stabbing but suffered a 3-inch laceration to his upper body, told the sheriff’s department that the attack “came out of nowhere,” according to an incident report.
That was followed by further arrests for crimes committed inside Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, Richland County court records show.
In November 2023, White was charged with prisoners participating in riot, according to court records.
On both April 16 and Dec. 18, 2025, White was charged with prisoners/contraband, furnishing or possessing, county or municipal prisons prohibited while being held at the jail in Columbia, court records show.
Those charges — that occurred after White was incarcerated in the jail for his role in the shooting where Snell died — are pending, according to court records.
While still behind bars in Columbia, White has since been moved from the jail to a prison. White began serving his prison sentence March 27, when he was admitted to Columbia’s Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, prison records show.
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This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Man charged in multiple shootings convicted in woman’s murder, SC officials say."
