South Carolina Courthouse Knife Attack: Suspect’s Bond Denied

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The suspect in a March 10, 2022 courthouse knife attack in Richland County, South Carolina was denied bond last week – but will have another opportunity to apply for it in three months’ time.

Latasha Boyd, 28, was denied bond on February 22, 2023 by S.C. circuit court judge Jocelyn Newman.

Boyd has been held on first-degree assault, kidnapping and weapons charges at the Alvin S. Glenn detention center in Columbia, S.C. since March 29, 2022. On that day, she was (belatedly) arrested for holding longtime Richland County clerk of court staffer Teresa Cribb against her will at knifepoint nearly three weeks earlier.

“I was coming back from the restrooms and going back to my office,” Cribb told deputies of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) in describing the moments leading up to the attack. “I felt someone grab me in a choke hold from behind.”

 “It was several seconds that she had me by the neck,” Cribb said.

The incident took place on the fourth floor of the Richland County courthouse (which is located at 1701 Main Street in downtown Columbia, S.C.).

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“I’m not going to f*cking prison,” Boyd said as she brandished the knife, according to Jerrod Fussnecker – a prosecutor in the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson who happened to be disembarking from an elevator in the building at the time of the attack.

As Fussnecker escorted the victim to safety, he told deputies he heard Boyd express regret that she did not use her knife to stab the victim.

“I should have stabbed her deep (and) good,” Boyd is alleged to have said.

Boyd surrendered her weapon to deputies who (eventually) responded to the attack – but was inexplicably allowed to walk out of the building without being apprehended. As this news outlet reported at the time, Boyd was presumed to have been arrested following the attack – in fact multiple Columbia, S.C. media outlets erroneously reported she had been arrested.

Unfortunately, that was “fake news.”

As noted above, Boyd was not apprehended until nearly three weeks later.

In addition to the criminal charges against Boyd, the courthouse knife attack last March prompted a civil lawsuit against the RCSD – the agency responsible for providing security at the facility.

(Click to View)

That lawsuit accused RCSD of “neglect, recklessness, failure to follow security procedures, and … unconscionable misconduct.”

In the aftermath of the attack, attorney Joe McCulloch called on the S.C. state supreme court to “conduct a statewide audit of courthouse security which will explicitly delineate the responsibilities for courthouse security and establish minimum standards for such security.”

“The dangers in our courthouses are brought into harsh focus by this incident and courthouse employees, the public, our judges, even the lawyers who work there, deserve to have a high degree of comfort while doing the citizens’ business,” McCulloch said.

Boyd is represented by attorney Tivis Colley Sutherland IV of Columbia, S.C. As with anyone accused of committing any crime, she is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as she may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against her.

Yet while Boyd is considered innocent until proven guilty – and deserves the right to a speedy trial (and humane incarceration) – judge Newman deserves credit for putting public safety first. Too many judges in South Carolina permit violent criminals to go free on bond with little to no regard for their victims – or the welfare of the public.

Like her famous father, Newman appears to be committed to doing things the right way …

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THE ORDER …

(Via: S.C. Fifth Judicial Circuit)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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