Judge delays trial in case against former Florence County sheriff's deputy

FLORENCE — The federal case against a former Florence County sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his mother and stepfather was continued until the next term of court.

Timothy Poole, 35, the former deputy, along with his ex-wife, Jodie Ann Poole, 33, are charged in the same indictment and each face one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 17 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud in connection with the deaths. Prosecutors believe the two mailed documents that would lead to his benefiting from his mother Linda Poole Hilton’s estate once she died.

U.S. District Court Judge Bryan Harwell granted the continuance to give the attorneys time to work out the scheduling order for the trial, which could take place as early as February.

Timothy Poole remains in custody awaiting trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas E. Rogers III previously denied a motion filed in September to reconsider his release.

Poole-Hilton, along with her husband, William Henry “Bubba” Hilton Jr., were found shot to death Aug. 2, 2006, at their Lakewood Plantation home.

State murder charges against Timothy Poole were dismissed on Dec. 27, 2006, according to the memorandum filed by Timothy Poole’s attorney, Kirk Truslow.

Truslow said in the document prosecutors want Poole to stay behind bars because of the brutality of the crime he’s accused of committing.

Truslow went on to refute claims by a government agent who said that photographs of the footwear impression taken from the scene matched Poole’s “perfectly.”

Truslow wrote that the defense counsel has a copy of the FBI report and it states the photographs of the impressions share some design features waith Poole’s footwear. The impressions retained limited details, according to the memorandum. Other associations between it and Poole’s shoe weren’t made.

Government agents testified during the hearing that surveillance video from a nearby chicken plant recorded a vehicle similar to Poole’s arriving at and departing from the crime scene during the time of the slayings.

Truslow said no conclusion could be reached about whether the video showed Poole’s car.

Federal authorities allege that before her death, Poole-Hilton became “increasingly disenchanted” with her son Timothy’s behavior and threatened to stop assisting him financially as of August 2006. Prosecutors said letters written by Poole-Hilton before her death support this.

Truslow said letters were found on Poole-Hilton’s computer, but there was no indication the letters were ever printed, signed or mailed.

Also, in August 2006, Timothy Poole and his then-wife Jodie had financial difficulties, including the impending foreclosure of their Florence home and the bank repossessing their vehicle, according to the indictment.

Truslow said Poole-Hilton intended to stop paying Timothy Poole’s mortgage, but also offered to let him and his family live rent-free in another home she owned.

According to the indictment, if Poole-Hilton died, the three Poole children would receive funds from their mother’s estate under the terms of the trust.

Poole-Hilton wrote in a letter that the trust skips a generation and her son, Timothy, wouldn’t inherit “a bunch of money,” according to the memorandum.