A Firefighter Just Traced the Gun Claim Back to Rick Chow's Own Son at His Murder Trial

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Yes.

[00:00:00]>> Thank you, Mr. Walker.

[00:00:02]You may stand. You may take your seat for the duration of >> Gregory Gregory Walker.

[00:00:16]May I please go first?

[00:00:20]>> Yes, you may go.

[00:00:21]>> Good morning, Mr. Walker. How are you?

[00:00:23]>> How you doing, man?

[00:00:24]>> I'm good. So, I just want to introduce you to the jury pool a little bit. So, could you could you tell us where you work?

[00:00:28]>> Uh Columbia Fire Department.

[00:00:30]>> How long have you been with the Fire Department?

[00:00:32]>> 26 years.

[00:00:33]>> 26 years?

[00:00:34]>> Yes.

[00:00:34]>> What's your current position?

[00:00:35]>> Battalion Chief.

[00:00:37]>> How long does it take you to get to that position?

[00:00:39]>> Uh depending on how you hit it. You hit the promotional right, you can get it. But, some guys make it in 15 years.

[00:00:47]>> 15 years? It takes a minute.

[00:00:49]>> Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

[00:00:50]>> It's not there just handed to you when you walk in the door.

[00:00:52]>> No, you don't get it at all. You got to battle for promotion.

[00:00:55]>> So, do you live in Columbia?

[00:00:57]>> Yes, I do.

[00:00:57]>> How long have you lived here?

[00:00:59]>> 20 7 years.

[00:01:00]>> 27 years? Were you born and raised or no?

[00:01:02]>> No, I'm originally from Birmingham.

[00:01:04]>> Birmingham, Alabama?

[00:01:05]>> Yeah, Birmingham. Yes.

[00:01:05]>> So, you're a Crimson Tide fan?

[00:01:07]>> No, I'm a Florida Gator.

[00:01:08]>> That's a good man.

[00:01:10]Um all right. So, when we were on when we're talking about May 28th, 2023, were you working that day?

[00:01:17]>> Yes, I was.

[00:01:18]>> Okay. Where were you working? What Like either were you on the road, were you at the station?

[00:01:22]>> Uh I was planning for my station, which is North Main.

[00:01:25]>> Off of North Main?

[00:01:26]>> Yes.

[00:01:26]>> Do you know roughly ballpark it how far that is from where this happened?

[00:01:30]>> Uh I don't know the exact mileage, but it's No, not right off the dome.

[00:01:35]>> Okay.

[00:01:36]How about whenever you were notified that something had happened, how long did it take you to get to the location?

[00:01:41]>> Roughly 10 minutes.

[00:01:42]>> 10 minutes? Okay. So, you're there pretty quickly?

[00:01:45]>> Yeah.

[00:01:45]>> Okay.

[00:01:46]When you get there, what do you see? Can you kind of describe what you see when you get >> I get there, my guys was on scene. I think EMS and the Richland County car.

[00:01:55]The crowd was getting kind of big right there.

[00:01:58]So, as I always do, I get up I get out my battalion, make sure the scene is secure. I talked to the captain that was on scene, asked him what he needed.

[00:02:06]And then I always try to talk to people that's around.

[00:02:09]If I can gather as much information as we can.

[00:02:12]>> When you say your guys are on scene, do you mean an engine an engine >> Engine Engine company.

[00:02:16]>> How many guys are in an engine company?

[00:02:17]>> Four. Four. Yes.

[00:02:18]>> Okay. Do you guys respond to these kind of calls >> Yes.

[00:02:22]Yes, we do.

[00:02:23]>> So, when you get on scene, you see your guys, do you see any other emergency personnel?

[00:02:27]>> Yes, uh EMS is on scene.

[00:02:30]>> Okay.

[00:02:30]Uh do you have any deputies on scene, too?

[00:02:32]>> Yeah, deputies were on scene.

[00:02:33]>> Are there any lay witnesses around or lay individuals?

[00:02:36]>> Regular people? Regular people, and EMS and Winston-Salem.

[00:02:40]>> So, you talked to your guys.

[00:02:41]>> Right.

[00:02:42]>> And then you kind of milled around, and did you talk to anybody else?

[00:02:45]>> Uh yes, I did. Uh you said my own that day?

[00:02:47]>> Yeah.

[00:02:47]>> Yes, uh when I got finished talking to my guys, I seen um another guy that was standing back. I asked him, "Do you know what happened?"

[00:02:55]>> Yeah. Don't tell me what he said.

[00:02:57]>> Okay.

[00:02:57]>> Okay. Um without getting into anything that he actually said to you, did anybody on scene, your guys, this guy, whoever, tell you about a gun being involved in some way, shape, or form?

[00:03:10]>> Uh yes.

[00:03:12]>> Okay.

[00:03:13]Did anybody say that the victim, Cyrus, had pointed a gun?

[00:03:18]>> No.

[00:03:19]>> Okay.

[00:03:20]Did anybody say that the victim was carrying a gun?

[00:03:25]>> Where was the weapon?

[00:03:27]>> Did anybody say the victim was carrying a gun?

[00:03:30]>> No.

[00:03:32]>> Okay.

[00:03:33]Um do you know who you were speaking to that day?

[00:03:36]>> Yes, I do.

[00:03:38]>> Could you say who it was?

[00:03:39]>> I don't know his name. I think it was the son of uh the store owner.

[00:03:43]>> Is Mr. Andy Chao?

[00:03:44]>> Yes, it was his son.

[00:03:48]>> Court indulgence.

[00:03:55]>> No further questions gentlemen. Please answer any questions from the defense.

[00:03:59]You're welcome coachman.

[00:04:01]>> Yes sir.

[00:04:13]>> Uh seemed pretty chaotic when you got there into the group.

[00:04:17]>> Yes sir.

[00:04:18]>> Okay. And there were a lot of people there as well?

[00:04:20]>> I believe you got that point.

[00:04:21]>> Yes it was.

[00:04:21]>> Okay. You didn't actually conduct an interview or interrogation of anybody, correct?

[00:04:26]>> No sir, I did not.

[00:04:28]>> Uh and of course the state asked you about whether or not anybody had said anything about a gun. That was their first question to you.

[00:04:34]>> Yes sir.

[00:04:35]>> Uh actually somebody did say something about a gun, didn't they?

[00:04:38]>> Yes.

[00:04:39]>> Yeah. And the person you were talking to, I think you identified as the son, >> Yes.

[00:04:43]>> Uh said that he told his father that uh Mr. Cormack Bell had a gun.

[00:04:51]>> Yes.

[00:04:52]>> Is that correct?

[00:04:52]>> Yes.

[00:04:53]>> Okay.

[00:04:54]Thank you.

[00:04:55]>> May I redirect?

[00:04:56]>> Yes you may.

[00:04:59]>> All right, so you can step down. Thank you.

[00:05:00]>> Thank you judge.