FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The man accused of a 2017 deadly Conway bank robbery has filed a motion, claiming he is facing harsh conditions in jail while waiting for his trial.
Brandon Council is accused of killing two bank employees in a 2017 bank robbery in Conway.
Council filed a motion on Monday for the Florence County Detention Center to move him from a maximum segregation unit to general population. He claims that by placing him in segregation, his constitutional rights are being violated.
According to the motion, detention center officials are denying Council access to a pencil and paper as he prepares for trial. The motion states that by being in in segregation, he cannot effectively communicate with his legal team.
His trial is expected to start in September.
A hearing for Council was held in April. According to court documents, a judge rejected a motion to suppress statements made by Council. A motion to “strike non-statutory aggravating factors or in the alternative for other relief” was taken under advisement.
Council, of Wilson, North Carolina, is charged with two counts of murder, among other federal and state charges, related to the killings of the two CresCom Bank employees, Donna Major, of Conway, and Kathryn “Katie” Skeen, of Green Sea.
Court documents reveal Council admitted to the murders.
Bank video shows Council approach a teller and speaks with her briefly. “Council then pulls a firearm, points it at the teller and shoots her multiple times,” court documents state. “Council then jumps over the teller counter. Council is also captured locating a second female employee of the bank who was hiding underneath a desk. Upon finding her, the video captured Council shooting the employee multiple times as she attempts to hide under the desk.”
According to the US attorney general, Council could receive life without the possibility of parole or death for the first two federal charges.
Despite the evidence presented in court documents, Council’s lawyer asked the court to enter a not guilty plea in Oct. 2017.
Court documents filed in November showed Council’s defense team requested the trial to be continued to September 2019. The defense lawyers say they need more time to prepare.
The trial was originally set to begin January 2019. Court documents state jury selection with trial to follow will begin on or about Sept. 9, 2019.
