Smith arrested for arson

News

Thursday, 24 September 2020 12:17

Brittany Joyce Smith was arrested by the Alabama State Fire Marshal with assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on the night of Friday, September 18, 2020 on second degree charges of arson at a residence.
The arrest comes just after a bond revocation hearing that regarded the State’s request to revoke Smith’s bond, wherein the court ruled in her favor. The hearing was held on the grounds that Smith had twice violated her bond agreement by missing two required drug screenings. Smith also tested positive for amphetamines, methamphetamines, alcohol and prescription medications when she was present to provide a specimen on June 5, 2020.

Circuit Judge Jenifer Holt ruled in favor of Smith and denied the State’s request to revoke Smith’s bond, stating, “The trial of this case will begin in seven weeks on November 2, 2020. The Defendant needs to be readily available to assist her attorneys in preparing for trial. She can provide more assistance to her attorneys if she is not confined in jail.”

Holt also ruled that Smith’s color-code screenings should be changed from just random, to weekly and random until the time of her trial, which is scheduled to take place on November 2, 2020. Smith is awaiting trial by a jury of her peers for the January 2018 shooting death of Joshua Todd Smith.

Conditions of Holt’s new ruling stated that should Smith fail to report at the designated time and place for a screening, if she tests positive for illegal substances or alcohol or fails to comply with her bond conditions, she would be arrested immediately; however, under this new charge of arson, Smith is now in the custody of the Jackson County Jail.

At the resulting bond revocation hearing on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, the Defense stated they were satisfied the State would be able to prove Smith was guilty of arson in light of the evidence they held against her. The State was in agreement that there was no need to hear the incriminating testimony from the State Fire Marshal or the eyewitness who was on the scene at the time of the fire. The request by the Defense to place Smith on house arrest was denied, and Judge Jenifer C. Holt revoked Smith’s bond, ordering that she remain in the Jackson County Jail until her trial in November.