Ex-deputy coroner charged in drug theft from Aiken County dead

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - SLED is charging the former Aiken County chief deputy coroner with stealing medications over the course of several years.

In 2023, Alton Smith, 60, resigned after being accused of pilfering prescriptions from the dead, according to authorities.

Smith is charged with misconduct in office and possession of a controlled substance, Schedule I to V, in the first offense, according to SLED.

He was booked into the Aiken County Detention Center on Monday.

At the beginning of the investigation, Coroner Darryl Ables told News 12 that Smith was accused of mishandling prescription medications collected as evidence at death scenes. After the allegations emerged, Smith was immediately placed on istrative leave.

According to the arrest warrant, the crimes occurred between September 2018 and June 2023.

A report from the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office shows that on June 10, a deputy arrived at his home on Griffin Avenue to secure evidence for SLED.

Several pill bottles and pill containers were removed from various places inside the residence, according to authorities.

After securing the prescription medications from the residence, multiple prescription pill bottles and several clear plastic pouches containing prescription pills were found in a backyard shed.

The warrant states Smith was supposed to document any medications seized from death investigations, but according to reports from the sheriff’s office, he did not document the seizures.

The detention center says Smith made bond on both charges.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened in the CSRA. Former Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten was convicted a few years ago of stealing from the dead.

The case will be prosecuted by the Second Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

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