SC attorney general seeks to revoke bond for Murdaugh’s alleged accomplice Curtis Smith

John Monk
·2 min read

The S.C. Attorney General’s office will seek to revoke the bond of Curtis Eddie Smith, an alleged accomplice of disbarred lawyer and accused killer Alex Murdaugh, in a court hearing Thursday afternoon.

The hearing will be at the Richland County courthouse before state Judge Clifton Newman, who has presided over other Murdaugh-related matters.

A release from Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office Wednesday gave no details of why prosecutors are seeking to revoke Smith’s bond.

At bond revocation hearings, prosecutors normally explain to the judge why they want to revoke someone’s bond and presumably keep them in jail until trial.

An indictment in Smith’s case accuses him of drug trafficking and running a longtime money laundering scheme involving $2.4 million in stolen money.

On June 27, after a brief hearing, Newman put a $250,000 surety bond on Smith, 61, of Colleton County. The bond allowed Smith to stay out of jail pending resolution of the charges.

Creighton Waters, a top prosecutor in the state Attorney General’s office, had urged the judge to impose a $350,000 surety bond because of the larger amounts of money involved and the seriousness of drug trafficking.

Smith denied the charges.

Smith’s lawyer, Jarrett Bouchette, said if the judge had to set bond, $100,000 would be suitable because of Smith’s minimal criminal record and lack of money available.

Smith, a disabled logger, said, “Your honor, I don’t have any money. All I have is the disability I live off of, and that’s it.”

At that hearing, Waters described an alleged money laundering operation whereby Murdaugh over the course of several years gave Smith some $2.4 million in checks to convert to cash and give back to Murdaugh.

Much of that money went to buy drugs for Murdaugh, but a substantial amount of cash remains unaccounted for, Waters said.

In all, Murdaugh is accused of stealing some $8.4 million from friends, his fellow lawyers and clients, according to numerous indictments. He also faces murder charges in the June 2021 gun deaths of his wife Maggie and son Paul. He has pleaded not guilty.

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