‘A slap in the face’: Victim’s family objects to reduced bond in Conway-area murder case

The stepfather of a man killed after being shot in the back begged a judge to keep the accused shooter behind bars as he awaits trial.

“Being here today it feels like a slap in the face almost,” said Thomas Johnson, stepfather of Jahi Mishoe.

Johnson made his plea during a Wednesday hearing in Horry County as Ces’Swaun Lamar Simmons asked for a lower bond — a request a judge rejected.

Police charged Simmons in December with murder for the shooting of Mishoe. Two co-defendants were also charged in connection with the case. Assistant Solicitor Jazmon Kearse said Simmons was the shooter.

Kearse said the suspects threatened to hurt Mishoe before they shot him in the back. The shooting happened on Dec. 3 on the 1700 block of Willow Road in the Conway area, near S.C. 544.

Simmons’ attorney Ralph Wilson Sr. said Simmons’ family could not afford to post a $250,000 bond. Wilson also noted that his client has lived in the Horry County area his entire life. Simmons has been incarcerated since his arrest.

Johnson said his family felt the request to lower bond was disrespectful because Mishoe will never get to go home to his children and his family will never see him again.

Judge Benjamin Culbertson declined to change Simmons’ bond saying not enough time has passed since his first bond hearing in February. When he asked Kearse when the state would be ready for trial, the prosecutor said based on the current schedule Simmons’ case would not be called before March.

This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 6:59 PM.