Those injuries on Johnny Smith's face are the result of him scuffling with Columbia County deputies Tuesday afternoon after he was allegedly caught shoplifting a camera at Wal-mart.
According to a sheriff's report, the 30-year-old suspect concealed a digital camera in his pants at Wal-mart on Bobby Jones Expressway in Martinez. A Wal-mart employee who witnessed the theft confronted Mr. Smith and asked for the items back, but the suspect bolted.
After the employee's call to law enforcement, Reserve Deputy Les Walden and Deputy Scott Curry caught Mr. Smith and had to wrestle him to the ground to handcuff him. While kicking his legs and trying to roll onto his side, the suspect sustained a tear to his left pants and injuries to his knee and face.
Mr. Smith was checked out by EMS and then transported to the Columbia County Jail on charges of larceny and three counts of felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
im not saying what he did was good...but 3 counts of felony obstuction...3 felonies from running from the police, and getting wrestle to the ground. Im sure the police didnt have a scratch on em.. I know its not right, but 3 felonies is very serious for something that was so petty..all im saying is richmond county could of a gave the man a resisting arrest or fleeing...but instead hit him with 3 felony charges...probably because the police had to actually do a little running..
ReplyDeleteBobby Jones Walmart is Columbia County. It even says where the suspect was taken. Der der der!
ReplyDeleteok, out of my whole statement you took the jail i mention, ok so now lets get past that point and to the fact that COLUMBIA COUNTY officers put these extra felony charges on this man...just pisses me off so much to see how the police are doing people around the country...so my mistake on the county i mention, but richmond county is more corrupt the any of em...
ReplyDeleteI understand where you're coming from. To the second poster, instead of trying to make someone look stupid, grow up a little. But I guess depending on your age and what you been through in your life, its hard to understand poverty, crime, and dealing with police on a personal level.
ReplyDeleteI'm sick and tired of people taking up for these thieving criminals....If it had been YOUR house he was robbing you would have cheered as the officers tackled his chicken running behind! Defending a thief tells me something about where YOU stand with your morals
ReplyDeleteI'm not defending anyone, and a house invasion is something way more serious then shoplifting. Only point being made by me was the fact that this man was being charged with several counts of felony obstruction, and i felt it was unnecessary to charge him with the 3 counts, instead of maybe fleeing or resiting arrest perhaps. You probably never dealt with the police on a personal level to even get an idea of how dirty, corrupt, and racist they can be. The police are crooked like that, but my comment above did anything but defend a thief, more less called out the police on stacking charges on the man... so i dont know where you get off thinking you know me or my morals.
ReplyDeleteYes a house invasion may be a more serious charge but if it had been your place of business you would feel the same as me...he did steal from my business,tried to flee with my merchandise and did not have the guts to take his medicine for the crime and fought the police in the process. The employees of this store make their money from the profit of the store. He stole from every employee working here. And I do work with police on a personal level every day. I have never been treated with anything but the upmost professionalism by them....but of course I don't break the law so I have no experience with what you are talking about. I'm sure the officers and the magistrate judge that processed the paperwork for the charges knew what they were doing. But thanks for your support of the officers that would lay their life on the line defend you if in harms way....as for your morals? They have spoken.
ReplyDeletei wouldnt feel the same if someone snatched a camera and ran, come on you acting like you are traumatized from this...as if you had a gun pulled on you...and to be friends with a cop is to get treated whole lot better then not being a friend of a cop..so of course you would have no idea how dirty they are...i mean look at the crooked cops that got busted in 2008-2010...they have been so many investigations on the counties around, not to mention the country...and if you think a police going die for you, you gotta another thing coming...i know people that have been beat in 401 by the police on several occasions and thrown in the whole just to heal up so you cant see the bruises. so dont speak about my morals, when i have a different experience then you do with the police...
ReplyDeleteonly thing that makes since is that he was stealing from your business, yes i would be mad, i didnt excuse what he did as right or wrong...i just felt it was unessacry to have several accounts on him like that, i dont even know this guy, i just really dislike the system, because i see so many people get drug through the system wrong, and then someone else that deserves it might have money and get off like nothin happen...federal is somethin different from state, but the state is all about money
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1;19pm-you knowing so many that have been beat by the police should speak for itself. I'm sure your "friends" that have been beat by the police personally told you all about it and are upstanding citizens and would not lie.Hmmmm. With a department as huge as the police force there are bound to be "bad apples" and they are eventually weeded out. No one hardly ever hears of the good that they do. What do you think society would be like without them? And yes I take this very personally....he is stealing my bonus money. I don't make that much to begin with. He is also raising prices that I and YOU have to make up for.
ReplyDeleteAs for anonymous 1:23pm....I appreciate your rebuttal and opinion. I'm sure when it comes down to it in court most of the charges except the initial shoplifting and perhaps resisting charge will be dropped. In other words-plea barganed. Hopefully for the sake of the public, he will be sentenced to more than just a fine and short probation, and will not be back on the street doing the same the day after court. When a shoplifter is only fined and has done this several times before getting caught, for example has stolen $2,000 worth of merchandise before getting caught and is fined $300, doesnt that make it profitable? Who knows what else he has done and not been caught at for his monetary gains? NO ONE gets caught the first time!
in response to the above comment...as far as the police beating my friends go, i actually dont care how good or bad, that doesnt give 4 cops the right to strap you down, beat you, and throw you in the hole for a week to heal...and i actually had it happen to my uncle back in the early 90's, and the news on tv got involved in it all, and they actually had a lawsuit...ive known several friends and family that wouldnt lie about it! you can doubt the things i say, but dont question them as if im a lair, and these things dont happen...
ReplyDeleteAgain to anonymous above, this could go on forever! You had an uncle that was beat by some cops in the early 90's, the bad apples I talked about in another comment. So sorry for you and your uncle. What does that have to do with the officers having to chase down a criminal in a parking lot that was resisting arrest? You were not there, I was. The officers did nothing wrong. They restrained this fighting, screaming, spitting idiot and put him in the patrol car and it was over. I hope you get help to solve your fixation with what happened to your uncle and also hope that you stay away from criminal activity so none of those bad police officers beat you up. Maybe you should call upon all of your friends and your uncle to help you when a crime is commited against you, so you won't have to deal with the police since you are so distrusting of them. I tend to not trust people who are in prison and have had run ins with the law...but that's just me.
ReplyDeleteWanna know why they hit him with 3 counts? Easy...there was 3 cops involved AND the cops know some parasite of a lawyer is gonna try and beat down the charges for his 'client', maybe run a plea deal. Cops are tired of doing the dirty work just to watch the felon walk coz of some pond-scum lawyer and spineless judges.
ReplyDeleteits the DA you need to be calling spineless...the DA are more worried about their conviction rate then anything else...thats who makes the plea bargins, and then runs it by the judge...but the judge usually will go along with what the state wants to do...
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