South Carolina
Charleston County General Sessions Judge Pending Identification
Charleston County General Sessions Court
- Case on record
- 1
- Ended in a killing
- 1
- Prior arrests across these defendants
- 11
Background
Set $50,000 bond for Shawn Laval Smith on a 2019 charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Smith posted a fraction and was free on bond for two years while the case stalled in COVID backlogs. During that release, Smith traveled to Los Angeles and stabbed UCLA grad student Brianna Kupfer to death. Identity of presiding judge pending.
Cases on record
782
days after release
Murder in Los Angeles, California
Brianna Kupfer, 24
Released November 23, 2019. Terms: $50,000 bond (posted fraction).
Smith walked into the Croft House furniture store on La Brea Avenue and fatally stabbed Brianna Kupfer, who was working alone. He fled on foot; police found her body two hours later when a customer entered the store. Smith was on the run for a week before being captured in Pasadena. Convicted October 2024 and sentenced to life without parole.