By Betsy Finklea
A $200,000 bond was set on Dillon’s Mayor Pro-Tem Randolph Gurley at a bond hearing in General Sessions Court on Thursday with Judge Howard King presiding.
Gurley was in court on Thursday to have the denial of his bond by a magistrate court judge reconsidered. He had previously been denied bond on a charge of attempted murder and four unrelated drug charges—two for distribution of marijuana and two for distribution of marijuana in proximity of a school.
At the time the attempted murder charge arose, he wa under bond for criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature in another incident.
Judge Howard King said when considering bond they take into account risk of flight and danger to the community.
Allen Myrick, assistant S.C. Attorney General from the S.C. Attorney General’s Office who is handling the case, said that Gurley only came to know of the drug charges after he was arrested on attempted murder. He said that there are recorded videos of Gurley allegedly selling drugs to a confidential informant.
He said Gurley has not seen the videos, and he is not looking forward to Gurley seeing the videos because it will become clear to him who the confidential informant is. He said Gurley will want to know who “dimed” him and that makes him a danger to the confidential informant.
Lee Leonard, the victim in the attempted murder, said that he wanted to know if Gurley gets out if he is going to try to run him over. “I don’t want to go through that again,” he said. Myrick pointed out that Gurley and Leonard live within 100 yards of each other.
Jerry Leo Finney of Finney Law Firm in Columbia, who was retained for the bond hearing only to defend Gurley, said he felt substantially confident he would be retained for all Gurley’s charges, but that he was only contractually here for the bond hearing.
Finney said Gurley had no criminal record. He said they agreed the attempted murder charge arose out of a verbal confrontation but that they hoped to show that the defendant had a lot more to do with it and that the facts may demonstrate he may have lunged at Gurley’s car.
Finney then when through Gurley’s record of community service including the fact that he was on city council, was retired from the military, was a preacher, was working on his master’s degree and that he had won various awards.
Finney said there were many cases involving informants throughout the state and those defendants get bond. He also pointed out that Gurley had never threatened any informant or anyone involved in the drug cases.
He said if the court is concerned they could put him on electronic monitoring to tell where he is and to confine him to a specific area.
Finney said there were many ways to guard against him being a danger to the community.
Finney asked Gurley’s supporters to stand, and a handful of people stood up including Gurley’s wife.
Judge King set a $200,000 surety bond with several conditions including that Gurley have no direct or indirect contact with Lee Leonard, that Gurley not leave the state, that he surrender his passport, and that he is not entitled to discovery unless he has filed official counsel with the court.
The Dillon County Detention Center confirms that Gurley has been released on bond.