A bomb hoaxer who brought chaos to Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial has been unmasked as a violent inmate at a local prison.
Police confirmed last night that Joey Coleman, a local drug dealer, made the threat on the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on February 8.
Coleman, 32, called the clerk and claimed there was a 'bomb in the judge's chamber' forcing Murdaugh's trial to be evacuated. Detectives said there is 'no direct connection' between the thug and Murdaugh.
Investigators discovered Coleman in possession of a contraband cell phone after tracing the offending call to the Ridgeland Correctional Facility in Jasper County.
Coleman was jailed for 30 years in 2018 after pistol-whipping two store clerks during a stick-up in Yemassee, South Carolina, in 2018.
Joey Coleman (left and right) was jailed for 30 years in 2018 after pistol-whipping two store clerks during a stick-up in Yemassee, South Carolina, in 2018. The Walterboro crook has a rap sheet dating back more than a decade, including third-degree burglary in 2010, second-degree burglary in 2011 and possession with intent to supply cocaine in 2018
Lawyers, press and members of the public were seen streaming out of Colleton County Courthouse as police cars and fire trucks swarmed on the building in Walterboro, South Carolina on February 8
Paul, Maggie, Alex and Buster Murdaugh attend a dinner at the Carolina Yacht Club. The legal scion is accused of shooting dead Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021
The Walterboro crook has a rap sheet dating back more than a decade, including third-degree burglary in 2010, second-degree burglary in 2011 and possession with intent to supply cocaine in 2018.
Prison records show that after the bomb hoax Coleman was moved to the Broad River Secure Facility in Columbia.
On the day of the hoax, lawyers, press and members of the public streamed out of the courthouse amid fevered speculation over the latest twist in the Murdaugh saga.
A police officer entered the court moments before the evacuation and signaled to the judge who immediately sent the jury out.
Confusion spread through the room as the court clerk and a police officer then opened the rear doors, which are usually blocked off.
Law enforcement swept the building and eventually gave the all-clear two hours later, with the trial allowed to resume.
The involvement of a Walterboro drug dealer comes as the dark underbelly of the sleepy town has been exposed in Murdaugh's trial.
The disgraced legal scion's defense lawyers have suggested that a violent local gang, the Walterboro Cowboys, could have been behind the murders of his wife and son.
Murdaugh is accused of shooting dead Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, at the family's sprawling hunting estate in Moselle on June 7, 2021. The property is around 20 miles from Walterboro.
The disbarred attorney was in the grips of a chronic opioid habit at the time of the killings and claims he was buying $60,000 worth of pills a week.
His defense claimed that his drug dealer cousin, Curtis 'Eddie' Smith, was buying from the Walterboro Cowboys but skimming money off the top.
They insinuated last week that the Cowboys could have been out for revenge and murdered Maggie and Paul.
Prison records show that after the bomb hoax Coleman was moved to the Broad River Secure Facility in Columbia
A police vehicle arrives at the scene after a bomb threat was reportedly made
Prosecutors say that Murdaugh killed his wife and son because 'the walls were closing in' on his financial crimes and he had racked up millions in debt.
Murdaugh stole more than $10million from his law firm and on the day of the killings staff uncovered $792,000 had gone 'missing' from a recent case - this would turn out to be the tip of an iceberg of malfeasance dating back to 2011.
There is no suggestion that Coleman is affiliated with the Cowboy gang.
Unmasking the bomb hoaxer Wednesday, the Colleton County Sheriffs Office said in a statement: 'Just after noon on February 8, 2023, a clerk at the Colleton County courthouse received a call from an anonymous number. The unidentified male caller claimed there was a "bomb in the judge's chamber." The clerk immediately notified the security office, and the courthouse was promptly evacuated.
'Immediately, Agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and Detectives with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) began working to identify the caller.
Alex's cousin, Curtis 'Eddie' Smith, left, and Cowboys gang leader Khiry Broughton
Self-professed leader Khiry Broughton (center), a wannabe rapper who calls himself K Blacka, appeared in a 2013 rap video for his song 'Can't Let You Take Me'. He rapped: 'I've been f*****g with them killas and my n****s clappin' / You run up on me I'm gone' leave the scene nasty'
'The SLED Bomb Squad assisted with a search of the facility. As a result, no threats or devices were located. As court was cleared to resume, SLED Agents and Colleton County Detectives traced the target phone to the Ridgeland Correctional Institute in Jasper County. South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) personnel were notified and reacted swiftly to locate a cellular device in the possession of Inmate Joey Dean Coleman.
'An initial forensic examination of the phone confirmed the components were a match to the device used to call in the bomb threat to the courthouse. At this time, no direct connection has been identified between Joey Coleman and Alex Murdaugh or the Murdaugh trial.
'CCSO Detectives have obtained a felony arrest warrant for Joey Dean Coleman for the phone call threat. The Colleton County Sheriff's Office remains the primary investigative body for this incident with outstanding professional assistance from SLED and SCDC.'
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