A South Carolina man was sentenced to decades behind bars jury after being convicted of murder in the killing an 11-year-old girl in Lexington County last summer.
A jury took three and a half hours to return a guilty verdict against Quayshaun Clark in the death of Tashya Jay from June of 2021. Shortly afterward, a judge sentenced him to 48 years in prison on the murder charge.
Tashya’s Mother said after the verdict to, “I’m happy, I’m glad I get a little bit of closure… it’s enough to keep my going”
She added that there is still work that needs to be on her daughters case, and gang-related violence in Columbia. “More people was involved so there’s a little bit of closure knowing he was the actual shooter and we have him but I feel good. It won’t bring her back but they’re gonna always remember her name.”
Jay was staying at a friend’s house when stray bullets came flying through the wall killing her. Jay’s 13-year-old friend was also hit by gunfire but she was treated and released from the hospital.
The shooting came as a result of a party several houses down that ended in a gun battle.
Clark’s legal team tried to claim the shooting was in self-defense. He’d been at a party a few doors down from where Hay was staying that night and got involved in an altercation with someone else. He said the other person was the aggressor and was trying to kill him.
They argued he should face a lesser charge and that some witness statements made that night shouldn’t be believed.
But prosecutors said it didn’t matter if the girl wasn’t his target since he was shooting to hurt someone that night.
During deliberations the jury asked for a transcript of witness testimony and to rewatch video of the gunfire that was caught on surveillance video.
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