Suspect in 2010 shooting of Florence cop up for parole

Effingham man convicted in 2010 of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of an off-duty Florence police officer is scheduled to appear before the state’s parole board for the first time next month.

Brady Allen Johnson, 23, was initially scheduled to appear before the board on Jan. 11, but that hearing has been changed to Feb. 15, S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons spokesman Pete O’Boyle said. The change was made at the request of the department’s victim services division. No further information as to the reason for the postponement was given, O’Boyle said.

Johnson originally was indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm to commit a violent crime in connection with the Feb. 19, 2010 shooting death of 29-year-old Matthew H. Clayton. It was an unusual case to say the least. Johnson admitted to shooting Clayton but claims the incident was an accident. The Clayton family does not agree and blames Johnson’s being able to plea to a lesser crime on botched investigations by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and Horry County Solicitor’s Office.

Members of the Clayton family say they will be at the Feb. 15 hearing and plan to ask the board to deny parole.

“The family and friends of Matthew Clayton will be present at the parole hearing on the 15th of February to tell the parole board that it is our continued belief that Brady Johnson intentionally murdered Matthew Clayton,” Clayton’s uncle Scott Hemann said. “And that Horry County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson directly went against an agreement he made with the family not to plea bargain to a nonviolent offense and that our family and the people that were present minutes before, during and after the shooting were never allowed to present their facts at a prosecutorial hearing.”

Johnson pleaded guilty in December 2010 to involuntary manslaughter and the use of a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol in connection with the slaying. Investigators allege Johnson was holding a Mossberg shotgun when it went off, striking Clayton in the back while he was urinating in his bathroom at his Womack Gardens home off Alligator Road in Florence.

For someone to be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the government must prove that the person killed another person; the person acted in the heat of passion; and heat of passion was caused by adequate provocation. Voluntary manslaughter in South Carolina carries a minimum penalty of two years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Involuntary manslaughter is defined as either the unintentional killing of another without malice, but while engaged in an unlawful activity not naturally tending to cause death or great bodily harm; or the unintentional killing of another without malice, while engaged in lawful activity with reckless disregard for the safety of others. The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is five years.

Circuit Judge Thomas Russo sentenced Johnson to the maximum penalty on each charge — five years for the manslaughter charge and two years for the weapons charge — and ordered that the sentences run consecutively.

Johnson was given credit for the nearly 10 months he served at the Florence County Detention Center in Effingham prior to his plea.

Russo said he accepted the plea because the charges were appropriate based on what is presentable evidence under South Carolina law.

“This case may be exactly what Mr. Johnson says it is,” Russo said then. “It may be exactly what you (the Clayton family) say it is. But the evidence that could have been brought into this court and put in front of a jury was what it was.”

If Johnson is granted parole, he must adhere to several rules and restrictions or face the possibility of returning to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Johnson’s parole officer will have to approve his residence and his place of employment. He must have and maintain a job, and he will not be allowed to change his residence or employment without the consent of his parole officer.

He will not be allowed to use controlled substances, except when properly prescribed by a licensed physician, or consume alcoholic beverages to excess. Furthermore, he is not allowed to visit establishments whose primary business is the sale and drinking of alcoholic beverages and he must submit to a urinalysis or blood test anytime requested by an agent of Probation, Parole and Pardons.

Johnson will not be allowed to possess or purchase any firearms, knives or other dangerous weapons or associate with any person who has a criminal record or any other person whom his parole officer instructs him to avoid.

He will be required to obey all federal, state and local laws and will not be allowed to leave the state without permission from his parole officer, and his parole officer may make an unannounced visit at any time to Johnson’s home, place of employment or anywhere else he might be to check on him.

These are some of the basic provisions of parole, but a parole officer can impose additional restrictions and requirements as they see fit.

If Johnson is denied by the board, he may petition for parole again in one year.