Background: The Suburban Masonic Lodge in North Charleston South Carolina where a Christmas party shootout in 2019 led to the death of a mother of three. GoogleMaps. Inset left to right: Michael Christopher Whitlock Jr. and Michael Tiven Bolton booking photos from Charleston County Detention Center.
A South Carolina man who believed his girlfriend was “making eyes” at someone else during his mother’s Christmas party and opened fire, killing a mother of three in attendance, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison
For the slaying of Shaquanna Matthews-Myers, Michael Christopher Whitlock, Jr. 34, of Goose Creek, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and possession of a dangerous weapon after a weeklong trial in Charleston, according to an announcement from the Ninth Circuit Solicitor General Scarlett Wilson.
Matthews-Myers, 38, was killed on Dec. 22, 2019, after prosecutors say Whitlock and his co-defendant Michael Tiven Bolton opened fire into a crowd of people after a Christmas party at the Suburban Masonic Lodge in North Charleston which was hosted by Whitlock’s mother.
The shooting occurred just around 1:40 a.m. and when police arrived, they found Matthews-Myers face down with a gunshot to her rib cage. There was also a graze wound just three inches away from that wound. She was transported to a North Charleston hospital and died at 2:08 a.m., police told local ABC affiliate WCIV in 2019.
At the trial, Whitlock took the stand and said he felt disrespected by his girlfriend and mistakenly believed that she and another person at the party were “making eyes” at each other, prosecutors said.
Bolton and Whitlock confronted that man while armed, chased the man’s relatives out of the party while brandishing the gun and then started shooting.
The man was shot in his shoulder.
“The surviving victim was shot and frantically dragged himself to shelter between two cars. After Bolton emptied his gun, other partygoers, including the deceased victim Shaquanna Matthews-Myers, ran to the surviving victim’s aid,” the solicitor general said.
That was when Whitlock unloaded 14 shots into Matthews-Myers.
Both of the men fled; Bolton disposed of the gun and Whitlock disposed of his now-empty magazine. By 4 a.m. that morning, Whitlock was interviewed by police and prosecutors say he lied about the extent of his role in the slaying.
Bolton was sentenced to 30 years in prison last August. He pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted murder charges as well as the weapon possession charge.
Remarking on the senselessness of the killing, Assistant Solicitor General Kelly Barber and Managing Solicitor Daniel Cooper said “Whitlock was the catalyst of this ridiculous shootout.”
“Whitlock felt disrespected by his girlfriend, initiated the confrontation with one of the victims, and fired 14 gunshots into a crowd of people,” they said. “Even though co-defendant Bolton also fired several gunshots, this would never have happened if not for Michael Whitlock. The jury recognized that and gave the victims justice.”
The man who was shot at the party and survived, Phillip Green, testified at the trial, corroborating the allegations that he was shot after Whitlock went into a rage over the perceived flirtation, according to local CBS affiliate WCSC.
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