CURTIS RECEIVES PROBATION FOR COCAINE POSSESSION

Former Magistrate Comes Clean Among Family, Friends

Former Sumter County Magistrate Warren Curtis received a two-year
probationary sentence and was fined $1,000 Thursday after pleading guilty
to two counts of possession of cocaine. A host of local lawyers and family
members attended the hearing at the Sumter County Courthouse, where a
repentant Curtis choked back tears and spoke about his arrest and addiction
to cocaine.

"The loss of position, the loss of money, those are things I hope to get
back one day," Curtis, 43, said in front of 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas W.
Cooper Jr. "What bothers me most is the loss of respect and trust. As time
goes on, I might be able to earn some of that back, too."

Curtis, a former attorney and head of the Republican Party in Sumter
County, was poised to become chief magistrate before he was arrested in
June on charges of distribution of cocaine. A confidential informant told
authorities he was selling large amounts of cocaine to Curtis weekly, 3rd
Circuit Solicitor Kelly Jackson said. The charges were lowered to
possession when investigators determined the cocaine was only for personal use.

The two counts amount to a felony, meaning Curtis can not vote or sit on a
jury, and his driver's license was suspended for two years.

Curtis has been disbarred but could regain his law license after serving
his probation. If found guilty a third time, Curtis would face a mandatory
prison sentence. Cooper said the charges were fair. "I am grateful to the
solicitor's office for recognizing this as what it is.

This is drug use, not distribution. He is not a drug dealer," he said.

Curtis declined comment through his attorney after the hearing. Curtis is
an Ivy League college graduate and former partner with the Sumter law firm
Weinberg, Brown and Curtis. He was appointed chairman of the Sumter County
Republican Party in 2001, but relinquished his position when Sen. Phil
Leventis, D-Sumter, and Sen. John Land, D-Manning, appointed him as a
magistrate. As a magistrate, he oversaw mostly misdemeanor cases, including
drug offenses. Between 10 and 15 lawyers, including state Rep. Murrell
Smith, R-Sumter, submitted letters to Cooper on Curtis' behalf. Attorney
Michael Jordan said the members of the bar at the hearing were friends and
supporters.

"These are folks who have worked with him and know him, and it shows the
strength of the relationships he has built," Jordan said.

Law enforcement said Curtis exchanged 0.81 grams of cocaine with his dealer
at his home on Wise Drive on June 12. The next day, Curtis purchased 3.28
grams in the parking lot of Food Lion on U.S. 76/378 West. Curtis was
originally suspected of selling drugs because of the large quantity of
cocaine he purchased, Jackson said. "We thought we were going to find out
something much worse, but we didn't," he said.

Jackson said Curtis received no special treatment when his office
recommended a probationary sentence. "My goal was not to treat him any
differently from anyone that has come through this courtroom, and I think I
accomplished that," he said. "Everybody did the right thing." Curtis has
undergone in-patient drug addiction counseling in Lancaster since his
arrest, and two officials with the state Commission on Alcohol and Drug
Abuse said he is recovering well.

Friends, family and colleagues of Curtis testified the discovery of his
addiction was a shock. "He's gotten a grip on the cocaine habit he had,"
said Chip McMillan, Curtis' attorney. "Not only has he become aware of it,
we all have. Because nobody in this room, including (wife) Kristi Curtis,
had any idea this was going on." Kristi Curtis, an attorney for Sumter
County, testified about the turmoil following her husband's arrest. "The
past six months have not been good ones. We never thought we'd go through a
time this rough," she said. "It made me very angry, and very distrustful.
I'm standing by him today, not only because we have seven great years
together, but because I'm proud of the way he has faced up to his problem,"
she said. "He has been brutally honest with us and with himself."

Curtis, a father of two, is now employed by a manufactured housing outlet.
He thanked law enforcement for intervening in his drug habit and apologized
for the "shame." "In a way, I feel like a great weight has been lifted off
of me. I don't have that secret anymore. I don't have to hide it," Curtis
said. "The first few times I used cocaine, I considered myself a social
user. I thought I was so strong I could use it a few times and then quit
... Then I wanted to quit so bad. Had I not been arrested, I wouldn't have
presented myself for treatment ... "I'm sorry for the people of Sumter
County," he added, wiping away a tear. "A lot of people put trust in me,
and I let a lot of people down ... I hope at some point they'll be able to
forgive me."