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…