A man who fled to New York City after fatally shooting a North Charleston resident during a feud over taxes has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Envisioning the success of a self-defense argument at trial, prosecutors negotiated a deal that prompted Shatario Copeland's guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter. The 35-year-old from Amaker Street in Charleston had faced a murder charge.
Copeland shot Karriem Imran Mitchell, 32, on June 4, 2016, outside Max Quick Stop at 2000 McMillan Ave. More than a month passed before his arrest in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Assistant Solicitor Culver Kidd, who prosecuted the case, said Mitchell and Copeland had been involved in the sale of juveniles' Social Security numbers to be claimed as dependents on tax returns. But the IRS rejected some of the numbers, Kidd said, igniting their dispute.
Their daytime encounter at the convenience store was captured on surveillance video.
Mitchell stepped inside the business and apparently saw Copeland, Kidd said. He went back out and readied himself for a confrontation.
"This is obvious from his body language," Kidd said. "(Mitchell) is pacing, tying his shoes, swinging his arms ... outside the door."
As Copeland walked out, Mitchell charged after him and threw some punches. But Copeland shot him in a hand and the chest "almost immediately," Kidd said.
The encounter lasted five seconds.
Copeland might have had his gun ready when he stepped outside the store and could share some of the blame for bringing on his predicament, Kidd contended.
But Copeland's defense under state "stand your ground" laws made the likelihood of a conviction by a jury "quite low," the prosecutor explained.
"We had serious concerns about our chances," he said.
Copeland's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Birt, said she could not comment on the case without her imprisoned client's input.
The deal they struck with Kidd called for no more than five years in prison, but Circuit Judge Markley Dennis would have the final say. Copeland pleaded guilty July 18, and Dennis handed out the three-year sentence.
With credit for more than a year already served in jail, he is scheduled to be released in April 2019, state prison records show.
Before the shooting, Copeland had accumulated a lengthy rap sheet of 50 arrests from Greenville to the Lowcountry. His most serious past crimes included felony drug possession and domestic violence.