Koby W. Schmittou, the former Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) criminal investigator arrested last week for alleged firearm theft, attended a first appearance proceeding Thursday in local circuit court.
The 42-year-old was taken into custody Feb. 11 by the Magnolia Police Department and booked into the Columbia County Detention Center the same day. He was released within an hour on $10,000 bond. Schmittou is accused of stealing a .40 caliber handgun at Steve’s Outdoor Sports in Magnolia while he was an employee at the establishment, according to his attorney, David P. Price of Magnolia.
Schmittou was an agent with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office since 2001, according to his professional social media profile, but began work in recent months at the 606 W. Main Street sporting and hunting goods retailer.
On Thursday, Schmittou appeared in court with Price by his side. The legal rep told the Banner-News that his client is void of any wrongdoing and thinks the case should be dismissed altogether. The lawyer also claimed the incident was all caught on camera, proving his client’s innocence.
“You can see in the video, Koby fetches the firearm for a customer, then puts it in his pocket [out of habit] because he was in law enforcement for 20 years, then puts the firearm back –- and that’s it. It’s a non-charge,” he said. “…I hope it gets dismissed.”
When asked why his client was arrested to begin with, Price said the owner of the establishment was “adamant” that a firearm was missing but that his client never stole anything, and the case is a matter of inventory confusion.
“You have a prominent citizen here,” the attorney added. “This is an instance where the video helps us.”
At the first appearance, Circuit Judge David W. Talley Jr. informed Schmittou that the proceeding was not to determine any guilt or innocence, but simply to set in stone a bond amount — the $10,000 bail remained — and for any conditions of bail to be issued.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Phillips told the court that his office received the case file on Wednesday and that the details of the arrest were forwarded to 13th Judicial District Prosecutor Jeffrey C. Rodgers, who works out of El Dorado, to see if formal charges would be brought forth by the state.
“For what could be perceived as a conflict, we’ll have somebody outside of the county review and determine whether charges will be filed,” he said.
As a condition of Schmittou’s bond, Talley implemented a no-contact order with Steve’s Outdoor Sports or any of its employees. There was no timetable specified on when formal charges would or would not be filed against the former detective.