A South Carolina judge denied a claim of self-defense Friday for the second of two men who had avoided arrest by saying they feared for their lives when they fatally shot 33-year-old Scott Spivey during a road-rage encounter.

Circuit Court Judge Eugene C. Griffith Jr. ruled that Bradley Williams, 36, wasn’t protected by the state’s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to defend their lives when faced with a lethal threat. Williams was a passenger in a truck driven by Weldon Boyd, 35, who followed Spivey for around 9 miles before fatally shooting him on Sept. 9, 2023.

Under South Carolina law, as in several other states, killers are granted civil and criminal immunity if a judge rules they acted in self-defense.

The ruling amounted to a test case of South Carolina’s stand-your-ground law. Immunity hearings are typically held in criminal court, where killers facing charges have the chance to argue before a judge that they acted in self-defense. The Spivey family had filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that required Boyd and Williams to present evidence and testimony in civil court that they acted lawfully.

The killing had drawn little notice until an investigation by The Wall Street Journal last year aired conversations recorded on Boyd’s phone. The recordings were included in police files but never brought to light. Some of the calls indicated that Boyd was intent on pursuing Spivey and had anticipated a shootout while still en route. After the killing, Boyd called the deputy police chief of Horry County, a friend who promised to help steer the investigation in Boyd’s favor.

Judge Griffith ruled against Boyd’s request for immunity on Feb. 20 at the end of a four-day hearing. Griffith said in court he couldn’t reconcile Boyd’s account with the physical evidence, which included recorded calls that Boyd made, as well as the testimony of a witness who said Spivey didn’t aim his pistol at Boyd and Williams before the shooting started. “Credibility is huge here,” the judge said. “I’m evaluating the credibility of what I heard.”

The judge said he wanted two weeks to consider the immunity request from Williams, who was described by his lead lawyer, Morgan Martin, as a passenger “along for the ride.”

In a written order, Griffith said that Williams “has better credibility than Boyd,” but that his testimony about the shooting itself was “not credible” because it mirrored Boyd’s account. Williams also testified that he recognized Spivey was a danger but didn’t ask Boyd to stop following him or not turn in after him onto rural Camp Swamp Road. The judge said Williams damaged his credibility when he admitted on the stand to deleting Facebook messages with Boyd so the Spivey family couldn’t obtain them.

The judge’s ruling allows the family’s lawsuit to proceed against Boyd and Williams and increases the possibility that criminal charges might be filed. A special prosecutor is re-examining the Spivey investigation and has impaneled a grand jury to assess allegations of police misconduct on behalf of Boyd and Williams.

Spivey, who was driving drunk and waving a gun out the window of his Chevy Silverado, forced Boyd and Williams onto a highway median and drove off. Boyd, driving a Ram TRX with Williams sitting beside him, caught up with Spivey and chased him at high speed for miles. Spivey stopped his truck on Camp Swamp Road and got out holding a .45-caliber pistol. He yelled at the men to stop following him, and they opened fire with 9mm handguns from the cab of Boyd’s truck.

Spivey, an insurance adjuster, fired several errant shots and was killed by a bullet in the back that Boyd said he had shot. Boyd and Williams told police Spivey shot first, and the case was closed. In court, both men denied wrongdoing.

During a recorded call, Boyd recounted the shooting with Williams: “I had a f—ing blast,” Boyd said, and broke into a giggle. “I had a good time.” Williams responded, “You know, it is what it is. I feel, like, no remorse for that.” The men then joked about getting teardrop tattoos to commemorate the killing, which the judge said undercut their self-defense claim.

“This callous celebration of taking a human life demonstrates a complete absence of reasonable fear for their safety,” the judge said, in his order.

Williams had said in court that he was sorry Spivey was dead but that Spivey’s own actions that day forced Williams to defend himself. “He’s a danger to everybody around him,” Williams said.

Following the judge’s decision, O’Bryan Martin, another lawyer representing Williams, said the defense team is disappointed with the judge’s analysis regarding his client’s “individual conduct and circumstances.” “We remain confident in the strength of Mr. Williams’s case and will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf,” Martin said.

Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, said she was grateful for the judge’s decision denying immunity for both shooters. Foley worked for the past year digging through police files that held Boyd’s recorded conversations and other evidence, seeking support among state and local officials to reopen the investigation.

“The facts are the same today as they were the day Scott was killed,” she said. “Scott deserves justice, and finally the wheels of justice are starting to turn.”