State v. Tirik J. Johnson

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE
CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Tirik Jaquan Johnson-Epps, Appellant.

Appellate Case No. 2023-000179

Appeal From Florence County
D. Craig Brown, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2025-UP-135
Submitted April 16, 2025 – Filed April 23, 2025

REVERSED AND REMANDED

Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of
Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy
Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant
Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, and
Assistant Attorney General William Joseph Maye, all of
Columbia, and Solicitor Edgar L. Clements, III, of
Florence, all for Respondent.
PER CURIAM: Tirik Jaquan Johnson-Epps appeals his convictions for murder
and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and sentence of life
imprisonment. We reverse and remand pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR.

We hold the trial court erred by denying Johnson-Epps's request to individually
poll the jurors because the denial of his right to an individual poll of each juror is
reversible per se. See State v. Adams, 409 S.C. 641, 647, 763 S.E.2d 341, 344
(2014) ("[An appellate] court reviews questions of law de novo."); State v. Wright,
439 S.C. 101, 102, 886 S.E.2d 206, 207 (2023) ("The denial of a defendant's
request [that the jury be individually polled] is reversible per se."). Because we
reverse the trial court's finding regarding individual jury polling, we decline to
address Johnson-Epps's remaining arguments. See Futch v. McAllister Towing of
Georgetown, Inc., 335 S.C. 598, 613, 518 S.E.2d 591, 598 (1999) (declining to
address remaining issues when resolution of a different issue was dispositive).

REVERSED AND REMANDED. 1

KONDUROS, MCDONALD, and HEWITT, JJ., concur.

1
We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.