Guilty verdict and 30-year sentence in Khalil Singleton murder trial

Nearly three years after his son was shot and killed on Hilton Head Island, the emotional wounds are still raw for Kareem Singleton.

On Wednesday evening, he was in court when Aaron Young Sr. was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in the murder of 8-year-old Khalil Singleton on Sept. 1, 2012.

Called to speak before Young's sentencing, Kareem Singleton said even something as routine as a trip to Walmart brings up memories of his slain son. Through tears, he talked about how seeing the store's toy department or other families shopping stirred up loving memories of their time together.

Addressing Young, Singleton had only one message: "I wish, just one time, you would have stopped."

Young, the final defendant of three charged in the case, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper after a jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of Khalil Singleton's murder and the attempted murder of Tyrone Robinson.

Both Robinson and Aaron Young Jr., Young Sr.'s son, were tried and convicted in the past year. This week's court proceedings bring to an end a nearly three-year long legal ordeal.

Kareem Singleton said after the trial he and his family were thankful to see justice for Khalil, although it brought them "no pleasure," he said. Now, a tougher task is at hand: remembering the boy whose life was taken at such an early age and trying to move forward without him.

"I have to move forward and keep my son's memory alive," he said. "I keep him in my heart every day."

Addressing the family after his conviction, Young Sr. said he was "sincerely sorry" for Khalil Singleton's death. He said he was trying to defend his family and made a bad decision, but it was no excuse for what happened.

During his remarks, Cooper said it was more than a bad decision, giving Young Sr. the same sentence Aaron Young Jr. received in February.

"A bad decision is getting in the wrong line at McDonald's, or making a wrong turn," Cooper said. "This was more than a bad decision. A child is dead, and three people are going to be in jail for a long time."

Robinson, believed to have fired the fatal shot, was convicted in 2014 and received a life sentence, while Young Jr. was convicted in February and received a 30-year sentence.

14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said after the trial that, while Robinson's trial was more of a conventional trial, the cases against Young and his son were unprecedented, at times relying on legal theories of mutual combat more than 100 years old. Stone said the prosecution's goal was to hold every person responsible.

During Stone's closing argument, he said that, just because the incident wasn't a typical shootout, it did not mean mutual combat could not be applied to the case.

He argued that Young Sr. intended to kill Robinson, playing back a section of Young Sr.'s interview where he told investigators he'd "kill (Robinson) in a heartbeat."

"It's not the identity of the victim that matters. It's the intent of the people involved," he said. "The law is very clear. You don't get to simply say, 'It is not my bullet that killed him.' "

Young Sr.'s defense attorney Robert Ferguson said during his closing arguments that Young Sr. never fired a weapon during the incident. In both his opening and closing statements, Ferguson said there was no shootout, no crossfire, and no mutual combat that resulted in Khalil Singleton's death -- only "Tyrone Robinson and his .38."

AARON YOUNG TESTIFIES

The defense called four witnesses Wednesday morning before resting its case: Dr. Amanda Salas, a forensic psychiatrist who testified for the defense about the coercion claim on Monday; former Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputy Curtis Evans; Young Sr.'s father, Benny Young Sr.; and Young Sr. himself.

Young Sr. said during his testimony that he and his son pursued Robinson -- who he called a "menace" -- because he was trying to protect his family and his home. He compared it to the abuse taken by a "battered wife -- there's only so much you can take before you snap."

"Tyrone Robinson has been terrorizing my family for years," he said. "Now he's coming to my house. If I'm not safe at my house, where am I safe? I just lost it."

Young Sr. said after pursuing Robinson, he headed back home but decided to turn around because he believed Robinson "was not going to stop." He and Young Jr., despite pleas to his father to "let it go," drove to Allen Road, where Aaron Young Jr. shot at Robinson's car.

"I'm not a bad person; I just made a bad decision," he said.

Young also addressed the Singleton family during his testimony.

"I could never imagine what you are all going through, but I almost lost my son that day, too," he said.

During cross-examination by Stone, Young Sr. admitted to giving his son a 9 mm pistol and refusing his request to drop the matter and go home. Young Sr. also said he had no idea anyone was inside the house where Robinson had parked his car when Young Jr. shot at the car.

"Your son is in prison because of another bad decision you made," Stone said.

Young Sr. responded that his emotions were running high when he resolved to turn his truck around.

"You would protect your family, too, Mr. Stone," he said.

During his testimony, Evans confirmed he had been fired by the Sheriff's Office after speaking with Young Sr. on Sept. 1, 2012, and failing to preserve an audio recording of their conversation to be entered into evidence. The recording led to a trial involving all three defendants being indefinitely postponed last April.

Evans, now a Port Royal police officer, testified that he told Young Sr. multiple times if the bullets in their gun didn't match up with the fatal bullet that struck Singleton, they would not be charged with murder. Evans also said he "absolutely did not" have the authority to make that determination.

Salas' testimony mirrored her earlier testimony Monday -- that there were "errors of coercion" in Young Sr.'s handling by investigators. Salas said Young Sr. believed there were promises of leniency and exoneration for him and his son if he cooperated with authorities.

During his testimony, Young Sr. said he was told providing authorities with the gun used to shoot at Robinson's car would "exonerate me and my son and make us star witnesses in a case against Tyrone Robinson."

Young Sr. also said he was told he would "never see Hilton Head Island again" if he did not cooperate.

This story was originally published August 12, 2015 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Guilty verdict and 30-year sentence in Khalil Singleton murder trial."