Cannon: 'We dropped the ball'
Charleston County Sheriff's Office accepts blame; manhunt continues
Brian Smalls
How to offer tips
To provide information about the whereabouts of Brian Smalls, call 911, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office at 202-1700 or Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.
A computer glitch led to the release of a man charged as an accessory in the murder of Lincolnville Constable Robert Bailey, the Charleston County sheriff said Saturday.
As Sheriff Al Cannon spoke, a multijurisdictional police hunt continued for Brian Smalls, 29, who was freed from the Berkeley County jail Friday after serving a sentence for a parole violation.
Cannon repeated that Smalls is considered dangerous, partly because he has a history of carrying weapons, and there's concern other people charged in the Bailey case would want him killed to keep him from testifying.
Bailey's family has been warned, and sheriff's deputies are making sure they are safe.
"They are a little upset, fearful, as you can imagine," Cannon said.
Cannon held a news conference a day after Berkeley and Charleston officials had a back-and-forth exchange over who was responsible for releasing the detainee, who should have been held to face a charge of accessory after the fact of murder in connection with the constable's death.
Smalls reportedly told investigators last year that he took Walter Fayall III, the accused triggerman in Bailey's shooting, to Charlotte, and that during the ride Fayall told him that he shot and killed Bailey.
"We dropped the ball," Cannon said of Smalls' release.
When a staffer at the Hill- Finklea Detention Center in Berkeley County called Charleston County jailers about whether to release Smalls, the clerk checked a computer readout that should have warned her to have him held for transfer to Charleston County.
But Bailey was killed two years ago. Normally, the Charleston County warrant would have been served on Smalls when Berkeley County turned him over, Cannon said. In this case, because of the time involved, the warrant was served on him in jail.
The warning was removed by the computer program after the warrant was served. The problem will be fixed, Cannon said.
An internal investigation is under way, Cannon said. The mistaken release occurred two months after two inmates broke out of the Charleston County jail and a third didn't return after work release. Cannon said those problems involved human error.
"Just about the time you get one problem cleaned up, another one comes out of left field," said Cannon, who added that he doesn't think there's an overall problem with how the jail operates. Charleston County handles 15,000 warrants per month. The circumstances that led to Smalls' release are rare.
"I can understand how this could be disconcerting to people out there," Cannon said. "But I don't think it should reflect on the good work being done."
Smalls is about 5 feet 10 inches tall. His last known address is 343 McGuffy Court in Pineville.
Nadine Parks contributed to this report. Reach Bo Petersen at 745-5852 or bpetersen@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
SomeTruthPlease (anonymous) says...
Oh my gah. That's all I can say.
September 28, 2008 at 1:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
MAN O MAN! It seems like we have a lot of "ball dropping" going on in the Chas county jail system.
September 28, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
USC_Alumni (anonymous) says...
This isn't the first time this year that they accidentily released someone. This is a direct indicator that there is something wrong and needs to be fixed.
September 28, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ironhorse (anonymous) says...
Where in Gadsden Green can he be hiding?
September 28, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeg111 (anonymous) says...
And Barney Fife strikes again!!!
September 28, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GreenvilleGirl (anonymous) says...
Well, Gawwwwwwlee, Gomer! Barney dun let that thar boy out the jail! I need wun of them get out of jail free cards fer my cuzzin LeRoy!
Unbelievable, and this incident is what Cannon has admitted to thus far. It makes me wonder what else might be going on that we're not being told about.
Still, the best story I've heard yet is about the neighbor's dog finding the gun used at a shooting on Ashe Street/Bogard Street last week.
A plain 'ol dog found what 20 policemen couldn't find! I think the owner of the dog should get a reward from McGruff, the crime prevention dog.
September 28, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STREETLAW (anonymous) says...
It is unfair to say anyone dropped the ball here. To do that, you must first HAVE the ball.
September 28, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blah_blah_blah (anonymous) says...
now pick up the ball, and go and find the guy, quit talking to the media!
September 28, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
palmettoruckus (anonymous) says...
good job. still screwing up justice for the bereavcd Bailey family. just goes to show that no one really does care.
September 28, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
geekguy2008 (anonymous) says...
This should actually be GOOD news for the dtamato family, because now, they can sue the Sheriff's office and get all that money that they complained they DIDN'T get in donations (like the Charleston 9 did). Remember that? This constable's family were the ones poor-mouthing about the fact that they didn't get hardly any donations. what a joke.
September 28, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ironhorse (anonymous) says...
The story geekguy wrote about:
http://archives.postandcourier.com/ar...
September 28, 2008 at 5:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeg111 (anonymous) says...
Thanks for the reference ironhorse. I guess the fire fighters relatives should be glad that they worked for Charleston, and not Dorchester County. Geekguy does have a point...the D'Amatos have now been handed the opportunity, thanks to Al Cannon, to put their greedy foot right in the Charleston County front door!!!
September 28, 2008 at 6:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Lovely_One (anonymous) says...
I am going to sound like those posters that we sometimes love to hate, but here goes. I grew up and went to school with Brian and I was shocked when I first heard of his involvement with this horrible incident/crime. Brian was always so quite and nice. Not to say that those types don't make horrible choices in life.
My thought was that maybe Walter (another classmate of ours) ran to Brian, asked him to "take him and drop him off somewhere" and didn't let him know about the Constable. Then when Briana saw it on the news, he knew that he was in deep because he had helped Walter and now he could be labled an accessory or killed by Fayall if he came forward. I don't know what happened, but it is a possibility.
September 29, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Julianna (anonymous) says...
ironhorse,
If you want to complain, please make sure you spell the last name correctly. D'Amato, is the correct spelling and it's Italian. So shut your face already! You have no clue to what it is like to have someone you love murdered. This isn't about money...you are the one who brought it up and it is irrelavent. You are off point. The story is about a murder suspect released by human error. Now if you have any compassion in your soul, you would know the Bailey family is now going through this all over again. But, hey, what do I know. Ã meglio sciocco tiene la sua bocca ha chiuso e ha pensato saggio, di aprirlo e togliere tutto il dubbio.
September 29, 2008 at 11:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Julianna (anonymous) says...
my sincere apologies to mr ironhorse...my disgust was not to be rendered to you but to geekguy2008.
September 30, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCPDBLUE (anonymous) says...
Thank you Julianna, Some people think its about money for the D'Amato AND Bailey families but its not its about justice. Justice is what the D'Amato AND Bailey families want. Justice for the murder of their father,a man of honor who served his community with pride but was gunned down by a low life scum and left to rot 50 miles away buried in a corn field with the help of his scum posse. If these people only knew what was really said instead of what was printed,they would change there thoughts but with a liberal paper what do you expect the people think.
October 4, 2008 at 1:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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