Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting, killing Tabor City man at Myrtle Beach Cookout

CONWAY, SOUTH CAROLINA – A Murrells Inlet man who shot and killed a Tabor City man at a Myrtle Beach Cookout in 2020 has been sentenced to two decades in prison.

25-year-old Niko Williams pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature before his trial was scheduled to begin Monday, according to Christopher D. Helms with the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

The Honorable Circuit Court Judge H. Steven DeBerry presided over the hearing and sentenced Williams to 20 years in prison. Williams must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release.

The charges stemmed from a shooting during the early morning of Sept. 11, 2020, in the parking lot of the Cookout restaurant along Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach.

Williams argued with two women and when the victim, Albert “AJ” Soles, Jr., 24, from Tabor City, N.C., tried to separate Williams from the women, Williams pulled out a Glock gun and fired at the Soles until the gun was empty. Williams also struck another man several times and that man went through a life-saving surgery.

Williams left the parking lot in his vehicle, but was apprehended by police about two hours later in a Walmart parking lot not far from the scene of the shooting. Williams had no prior criminal record before this incident and has been jailed since it. He also had a valid concealed carry weapon permit at the time of the shooting.

“This case illustrates that a ‘concealed weapons permit’ is not a license to kill,” Helms said. “Citizens who lawfully carry their guns are welcome to do so in our community, but they must abide by the same laws and standards as unarmed citizens. The defendant’s use of a firearm in this instance was not only overkill here, it was criminal.”