Pubdate: Fri, 15 Nov 2002
Source: Item, The (SC)
Copyright: 2000 The Item
Contact:  http://www.theitem.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1105
Source: The Item (SC)
Author: Luke Reynolds, Item Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/people/warren+curtis (Curtis, Warren)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)

CURTIS RECEIVES PROBATION FOR COCAINE POSSESSION

Former Magistrate Comes Clean Among Family, Friends

Former Sumter County Magistrate Warren Curtis received a two-year 
probationary sentence and was fined $1,000 Thursday after pleading guilty 
to two counts of possession of cocaine. A host of local lawyers and family 
members attended the hearing at the Sumter County Courthouse, where a 
repentant Curtis choked back tears and spoke about his arrest and addiction 
to cocaine.

"The loss of position, the loss of money, those are things I hope to get 
back one day," Curtis, 43, said in front of 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas W. 
Cooper Jr. "What bothers me most is the loss of respect and trust. As time 
goes on, I might be able to earn some of that back, too."

Curtis, a former attorney and head of the Republican Party in Sumter 
County, was poised to become chief magistrate before he was arrested in 
June on charges of distribution of cocaine. A confidential informant told 
authorities he was selling large amounts of cocaine to Curtis weekly, 3rd 
Circuit Solicitor Kelly Jackson said. The charges were lowered to 
possession when investigators determined the cocaine was only for personal use.

The two counts amount to a felony, meaning Curtis can not vote or sit on a 
jury, and his driver's license was suspended for two years.

Curtis has been disbarred but could regain his law license after serving 
his probation. If found guilty a third time, Curtis would face a mandatory 
prison sentence. Cooper said the charges were fair. "I am grateful to the 
solicitor's office for recognizing this as what it is.

This is drug use, not distribution. He is not a drug dealer," he said.

Curtis declined comment through his attorney after the hearing. Curtis is 
an Ivy League college graduate and former partner with the Sumter law firm 
Weinberg, Brown and Curtis. He was appointed chairman of the Sumter County 
Republican Party in 2001, but relinquished his position when Sen. Phil 
Leventis, D-Sumter, and Sen. John Land, D-Manning, appointed him as a 
magistrate. As a magistrate, he oversaw mostly misdemeanor cases, including 
drug offenses. Between 10 and 15 lawyers, including state Rep. Murrell 
Smith, R-Sumter, submitted letters to Cooper on Curtis' behalf. Attorney 
Michael Jordan said the members of the bar at the hearing were friends and 
supporters.

"These are folks who have worked with him and know him, and it shows the 
strength of the relationships he has built," Jordan said.

Law enforcement said Curtis exchanged 0.81 grams of cocaine with his dealer 
at his home on Wise Drive on June 12. The next day, Curtis purchased 3.28 
grams in the parking lot of Food Lion on U.S. 76/378 West. Curtis was 
originally suspected of selling drugs because of the large quantity of 
cocaine he purchased, Jackson said. "We thought we were going to find out 
something much worse, but we didn't," he said.

Jackson said Curtis received no special treatment when his office 
recommended a probationary sentence. "My goal was not to treat him any 
differently from anyone that has come through this courtroom, and I think I 
accomplished that," he said. "Everybody did the right thing." Curtis has 
undergone in-patient drug addiction counseling in Lancaster since his 
arrest, and two officials with the state Commission on Alcohol and Drug 
Abuse said he is recovering well.

Friends, family and colleagues of Curtis testified the discovery of his 
addiction was a shock. "He's gotten a grip on the cocaine habit he had," 
said Chip McMillan, Curtis' attorney. "Not only has he become aware of it, 
we all have. Because nobody in this room, including (wife) Kristi Curtis, 
had any idea this was going on." Kristi Curtis, an attorney for Sumter 
County, testified about the turmoil following her husband's arrest. "The 
past six months have not been good ones. We never thought we'd go through a 
time this rough," she said. "It made me very angry, and very distrustful. 
I'm standing by him today, not only because we have seven great years 
together, but because I'm proud of the way he has faced up to his problem," 
she said. "He has been brutally honest with us and with himself."

Curtis, a father of two, is now employed by a manufactured housing outlet. 
He thanked law enforcement for intervening in his drug habit and apologized 
for the "shame." "In a way, I feel like a great weight has been lifted off 
of me. I don't have that secret anymore. I don't have to hide it," Curtis 
said. "The first few times I used cocaine, I considered myself a social 
user. I thought I was so strong I could use it a few times and then quit 
... Then I wanted to quit so bad. Had I not been arrested, I wouldn't have 
presented myself for treatment ... "I'm sorry for the people of Sumter 
County," he added, wiping away a tear. "A lot of people put trust in me, 
and I let a lot of people down ... I hope at some point they'll be able to 
forgive me."
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