3 juveniles, 3 adults charged with burglary, murder of Lancaster woman

Yahoo

12-05-2025

LANCASTER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Three men and three juveniles have been charged with murder after a , according to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.
The six suspects, ages 13-21, were all charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary.
Just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30, two days before the murder, deputies investigated a burglary at the Van Wyck Mart at 644 Rock Hill Highway in Lancaster. That's about 3.5 miles from where 40-year-old Larisha Thompson was reportedly murdered in the 3000 block of Riverside Road.
The owner of the store said surveillance video showed several young men trying to get into the store around 10:30 the previous night. Officials said they were unsuccessful in getting into the store, but did break open a door which opened into a bathroom from which the store was inaccessible.
During the burglary, shots from a handgun damaged a surveillance camera and the bathroom door. Ballistic evidence recovered from that scene and the scene of the murder proved that the same 9 mm handgun was used in both crimes.
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Investigators were able to identify that 21-year-old Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos was present at both crimes, and his 2024 white Honda Civic was also linked to both crimes. A search warrant was used at his home, and while taking him into custody, investigators found the 9 mm pistol, which was confirmed by a forensic examiner to be the weapon used at both the attempted break-in and the homicide.
Five other people, ages 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18, were all arrested after investigators learned they all had involvement in both crimes. All six suspects live in Lancaster, officials said.
The three juveniles were charged on Department of Juvenile Justice petitions and will have detention hearings this week. The three adults, Torres-Chirinos, Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari (18) and Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado (17), were booked into the Lancaster County Detention Center without bond.
Investigators believe Torres-Chirinos was the one to have fired the pistol in both incidents. He was also charged with possession of a firearm by an unlawful alien and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
According to the Sheriff's Office, all six suspects were in Torres-Chirinos' car during the night of Friday, May 2, when they pulled near Thompson's Accord as she was driving on Riverside Road. Torres-Chirinos allegedly opened fire at her car and struck her from his front passenger seat. Thompson's car came to a stop, and some of the suspects attempted to get into her car but were unsuccessful before driving away from the scene. Sadly, Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.
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'This shooting defies any sense of decency in a civilized society,' Sheriff Barry Faile said. 'Ms. Thompson was going about her business on a Friday night, not bothering anyone. All of a sudden, these six men and boys, out to get something for nothing from someone they did not know and had no business bothering, pulled alongside her car, and Torres-Chirinos opened fire, killing Ms. Thompson. There's no place in our society for acts like this or the people who commit them, and my hope is these six are never again among us.'
Sheriff Faile said the Department of Homeland Security placed detainers on the six suspects. 'That doesn't mean the federal government will scoop them up and send them out of the country before their cases are heard in court. It simply means if, for any reason, any one or more of them becomes eligible for release before their charges are resolved in court, Homeland Security will take custody of them and they will not be back out on the street. Our intention is that all six remain detained until they face the full weight of our judicial system,' Faile said.
Watch the full press conference from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office here:
The Sheriff's Office also stressed the importance of a thorough investigation and cooperation from other law enforcement agencies. 'We activated our entire investigations division to solve this case. They worked continuously from the time we received the call until all six suspects were in custody Thursday. They collected evidence using multiple tools at our disposal, and they reached out to other agencies like SLED and Homeland Security to do things we can't. We started with very little, but before the end of the week, one piece of evidence led to many others and a complete picture of what occurred. I can't thank the men and women of the sheriff's office and the other assisting agencies enough,' Faile said.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing, but no other suspects are being sought.
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