Solicitor will seek to revoke bond for 2009 murder suspect

Freddie Lee Simpkins

The Aiken County Solicitor's Office plans to ask a circuit court judge next week to revoke six separate bonds for a 2009 accused murderer who was arrested and offered bond five subsequent times as recently as Tuesday.

Freddie Lee Simpkins, 22, was charged in September 2009 for his role in the shooting death of 30-year-old Donald McCalla and is still awaiting trial for murder, but has been charged with crimes ranging from a simple marijuana possession to grand larceny and multiple second degree burglaries, going free after posting bond each time.

"A motion to have his bond revoked by the circuit court judge has been filed," Assistant Solicitor David Miller said Thursday. "It is just one of those deals where he won't stay out of trouble, and if he won't stay out of trouble, then we move to get his bond revoked."

Simpkins was arrested by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office after speeding Tuesday morning, and a deputy noticed a large, flat-screen television in his car, which was later determined to be stolen from a Jackson home, according to police.

Simpkins was arrested and charged with burglary in the second degree, and bond was set at $25,000 Tuesday by magistrate court Judge Carolyn P. Neal, though he had not bonded out as of press time.

Neal could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Without addressing any one case in particular, Miller said that the criteria used by a judge when setting bond is whether the accused is a flight risk or is a danger to the community.

Also, Miller said, bond is set with the understanding that the defendant will stay out of trouble while awaiting trial.

"One of the standard conditions of bond on every bond form is that the defendant remain on good behavior," he said. "The idea of the bond is to allow the person to obtain their release before they go to trial because, obviously, you don't want somebody who is not guilty of something to be sitting in jail until the case gets to trial."

A judge considering bond is supposed to consider whether the person is a flight risk or a danger to society based on prior convictions and the charge at hand, Miller said. Typically, the charges against the individual that have not yet been resolved are not considered, Miller said.

"It is not a cumulative thing," Miller said.

The classification of a crime as violent is also considered, Miller said, but the decision is largely up to the judge.

In South Carolina, magistrate court judges oversee bond hearings, but cannot set bond in cases in which a life sentence is a possibility. In that case, a defendant would then go before a circuit court judge in General Sessions court.

Simpkins was arrested and on Sept. 16, 2009, along with Jeremy Holloway, 22, and charged with the murder of McCalla in a drug-related shooting on Abbeville Avenue in Aiken. He was charged with being in violation of a beginner's permit, reckless driving, murder, two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a pistol during the commission of a crime. He received a $150,000 bond in General Session court and was released.

He was arrested on Feb. 6, 2010, for grand larceny and simple larceny and was released the same day.

He was arrested on April 14, 2010, for simple possession of marijuana and was released the same day on a $570 bond, Miller said, explaining that, in a case where a fine is imposed, the bond amount cannot exceed the amount of the potential fine.

He was arrested on July 14, 2010, and released the next day on charges for simple possession of marijuana and burglary second degree.

He was arrested on Oct. 6, 2011, and released on Oct. 11 on a bond matter.

He was arrested Tuesday for second degree burglary, and as of press time, his bond was set at $25,000 but he remained in the Aiken County detention center.

Staff writer Karen Daily contributed to this article.

Contact Anna Dolianitis at adolianitis@aikenstandard.com.