Cutro’s husband sentenced to 12 years
This story was originally published in The State on January 17, 2004.
Staunch defender of his wife, a convicted child killer, pleads guilty in drug, kidnapping case
A man who rose to public attention as a stalwart defender of his wife, a convicted child killer, will serve 12 years in prison on drug, kidnapping and assault charges.
Josh Cutro, 55, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday on 16 charges filed in Richland and Lexington counties in 2002 and 2003, prosecutors said.
Judge G. Thomas Cooper handed down sentences ranging from five years to 12 years, the prosecutors said.
Because the sentences are concurrent and some offenses are considered violent, Cutro will serve 85 percent of 12 years - the harshest sentence, said Richland County prosecutor Don Sorenson.
No relatives or friends spoke on Cutro's behalf during the hearing at the Richland County courthouse, Sorenson said. None of his three children was in court, and Cutro has said he has had little contact with them since his August 2002 arrest in Lexington County.
Efforts to reach Cutro's Richland County public defender on Friday were unsuccessful.
Cutro's wife, Gail Cutro, is serving a life sentence for the 1993 deaths of two infants in the Irmo day care the Cutros operated.
Josh Cutro was at his wife's side for each of her three trials.
Josh Cutro's own legal troubles began two summers ago and snowballed.
He was charged with dragging a man at gunpoint from his car at a West Columbia bar during a confrontation, Lexington prosecutor Tav Swarat said.
That led to cocaine and Ecstasy charges. Cutro was arrested on more drug charges while he was free on bail, Swarat said.
Last summer, Richland County deputies charged Cutro with trying to run over two deputies, trafficking in crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy and failure to stop for a blue light.
Cutro was arrested after he fled during an undercover prostitution investigation at the Western Inn and Suites on Broad River Road.
Cutro was trying to get a woman to sell cocaine for him, Sheriff Leon Lott said at the time. The woman was an undercover officer.
Deputies shot Cutro in the upper left arm when he crashed after an eight-mile chase. Cutro emerged from the car with a large knife and raised it in a threatening manner. An earlier shot grazed Cutro's leg.
Cutro later told The State he wanted deputies to shoot him in what is commonly called "suicide by cop."
This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Cutro’s husband sentenced to 12 years."