CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Fifteen years after being locked away for a crime he said he didn’t commit, a South Carolina man’s conviction was thrown out Thursday, years after a recorded confession validated his claim.
Michael Pearson’s 60-year sentence for a 2010 robbery was overturned by Judge Robert Hood in a Clarendon County courtroom.
He was then released on a $50,000 PR bond and ordered not to contact the family of the victim, Edward “Slick” Gibbons.
Third Circuit Solicitor Ernest Finney III indicated in court documents that his office will not seek a retrial against Pearson. Solicitor Finney also stated in court that his office will decide by Sept. 29 whether to dismiss the charges entirely.
Since his initial arrest and following conviction in 2012, Pearson has maintained his innocence by filing appeals that state he had no part in the crime.
Pearson’s claims began to gain traction in 2023 after his co-defendant, Victor Weldon, agreed to testify about what happened on the day of the crime, admitting to guilt in exchange for a plea deal from the state.
In his confession given in March 2023, Weldon admitted that he did not know Pearson and that he was not involved in the crime, providing officials with the identities of two others whom he alleges participated in the robbery. He then passed a polygraph the following month.
Although Pearson passed a polygraph in November 2023, the case did not begin to move forward again until the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence became involved, according to Chris Mumma, Pearson’s attorney and the center’s director.
In Mar. 2025, one of the individuals identified by Weldon confessed to officials their role in the robbery.
During the hearing, Mumma called on the solicitor’s office to proclaim Pearson’s innocence, but Solicitor Finney said that would be premature as an investigation into the robbery is ongoing.
She also called on the court to assess its handling of the case.
“It is our firm belief that we would not be here today and that Mr. Pearson would not be walking out of prison had the center not gotten involved in this case,” Mumma said. “That is something that needs to be considered and verified, and if it’s true, that is not the way our court system should operate.”
Pearson has spent the last 15 years behind bars after being convicted of robbing Gibbons, a local well-known businessman, on May 15, 2010. Gibbons was attacked by three suspects wearing ski masks who were waiting in his garage for him to come home.
The suspects assaulted Gibbons, stole his money, and wrapped duct tape around his head before fleeing in Gibbons’ 1987 Chevrolet El Camino.
Pearson and another individual, Victor Weldon, were identified as suspects after DNA evidence recovered from the stolen El Camino, and the duct tape was positively linked to the two.
The duct tape evidence came back for Weldon, and the El Camino fingerprint evidence linked to Pearson; however, the palm print underneath did not match Pearson.
According to the center, the FBI database did not identify the thumbprint as belonging to Pearson. Still, a Sumter police officer, “then compared the thumbprint to “persons of interest” and concluded it was a match to Michael Pearson.”
Pearson and Weldon were arrested afterward. Both men have denied knowing each other since their arrest.
During the trial, Pearson and Weldon were tried together. Weldon is now serving an 18-year sentence granted by his plea deal.
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