Left: Jaimen Tisdale. Right: Mariah McAteer (Charleston County Jail).
A South Carolina couple is headed to prison after the pair brought their young children along when they followed a group of men who had just cashed their checks and shot into their car, killing one of them.
Jaimen Tisdale, 23, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder and attempted robbery of 25-year-old Miqueas Lopez in North Charleston. Tisdale was convicted last week by a jury of murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, three counts of attempted armed robbery and two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, according to the Charleston County Solicitor's Office.
Tisdale's girlfriend, 24-year-old Mariah McAteer, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder, three counts of attempted armed robbery and two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child.
On July 13, 2023, Tisdale and McAteer waited outside a convenience store in a car with their two infants as Lopez and three others cashed their checks. According to the Post and Courier, the men had just finished a day of work installing electrical work at a local school.
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The suspects then followed Lopez, his brother and cousin for more than 10 minutes as the victims dropped off another man. When Lopez pulled over to the side of the road near the home, the defendants seized an opportunity to rob them. Tisdale hopped out of his car with an AR-15 rifle and ran up to the driver's side of the victims' vehicle, where Lopez was sitting.
Surveillance video captured Tisdale pointing the rifle into the victim's car and shooting inside. Lopez tried to drive away but suffered a "close-range gunshot wound to the head," prosecutors said. Lopez's brother and cousin were not hurt.
Cops were able to quickly track down the suspects thanks to street cameras.
"He targeted these men because he thought they were weaker than him, they were vulnerable and that they wouldn't report him. What he didn't count on was the surveillance cameras," Assistant Solicitor Jordan Norvell told jurors, per the Post and Courier.
Tisdale's attorney claimed his client was following the men because he thought they were suspicious as he had seen their car multiple times that day. Tisdale said the gun accidentally went off and did not mean to shoot the victim.
But jurors weren't buying the story.
"This was a targeted act of depravity that resulted in the loss of an innocent life," Assistant Solicitor Cassity Brewer said in a press release.