In Christmas Eve shooting death, Preston Oates indicted (update: why not for murder)

Update February 18: Bluffton today has followed up with a report about the indictment.

Most notable are their quotes from 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone about why he did not press a murder charge.

You can read the report on their site here, however the formatting makes it rather hard to do so, read a better formatted version here.

Important to note the charge could still be elevate — most likely if new evidence or facts come to light. 

The Island Packet has slightly different report.

First reporting: This just in: A Beaufort County Grand Jury indicted Preston Ryan Oates on one count of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday, February 17, in connection with the Christmas Eve shooting death of Carlos Olivera.

The family of Olivera and many in the community had pressed for the charges to be raised to murder.

South Carolina law defines the difference between manslaughter as "the unlawful killing of another without malice, express or implied" while murder as being more intentional, "killing of any person with malice aforethought, either express or implied." Conviction of a homicide carries a penalty of 2 to 30 years, while murder carries 30 years to life.

Oates also faces charges of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, which if convicted carries a penalty of up to five years.

Oates remains in the Beaufort County Detention Center.

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