St. Helena man sentenced to 30 years for assaulting, holding woman at gunpoint in 2019
A jury found a St. Helena man guilty Wednesday of assaulting a 73-year-old woman and holding her for hours at gunpoint at her home in 2019, and a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Codrian Smalls, 26, was convicted Wednesday of assault with intent to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Circuit Judge Robert Bonds sentenced Smalls to 30 years for the assault and two years for the weapons charge, the press release said, to be served concurrently. Smalls will receive credit for the 795 days — 2 years, 2 months — that he spent awaiting trial, according to the press release.
The victim showed bravery in identifying her attacker and when testifying against him in court, said Hunter Swanson, a prosecutor with the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
“As a result, a predator has been removed from our community and gets the punishment he deserves,” Swanson said.
On Aug. 29, 2019, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Lane’s End in St. Helena after receiving a call about a burglary and sexual assault, according to an alert from the Sheriff’s Office at the time. The woman had been napping around 1:30 p.m. when she woke up to a tap on the shoulder, the press release said, and saw Smalls standing over her. She told him to leave and he did, but returned soon after and pointed a gun at her, according to the press release. He tried to rape her three times over the next “several hours,” the press release said, but was unable to. He left on a bicycle, having stolen $120 and a .380 handgun, the press release said.
Smalls turned himself in on Sept. 7, according to previous reporting by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. His DNA was matched to DNA found on the victim’s clothing by the Sheriff’s Office forensic lab analysts, the press release said.
Smalls’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
