Rock Hill teen pleads guilty to Lancaster murder as trial starts
A Rock Hill teen has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to the Lancaster County killing of another teenager, according to court officials and records.
Jarod Keshun McNeil, 19, had fled to Alabama after the September 2019 killing but was caught days later and has been in jail ever since.
McNeil pleaded guilty in Lancaster County criminal court to murder in the killing of Jaquavious Neely, 19, also of Rock Hill, said Randy Newman, 6th Circuit Solicitor. Neely was shot in Lancaster County.
McNeil and Neely were passengers in a car that pulled up to a house on Carmel Road before McNeil shot Neely on the home’s porch steps, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office deputies and prosecutors said.
A jury had been picked Monday as Lancaster County prosecutors Luck Campbell and Melissa McGinnis planned to start McNeil’s a murder trial. But McNeil pleaded guilty before opening arguments, Newman said.
A conviction for murder in South Carolina carries a minimum sentence of 30 years up to life in prison.
Visiting South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. sentenced McNeil to 35 years in the S.C. Department of Corrections Tuesday after the guilty plea, said Jeff Hammond, Lancaster County Clerk of Court.
