An inmate charged in a March 2025 fatal jail beating at the Halifax County Detention Center has been transferred to Wake County for safekeeping, according to court documents. 

District Court Judge W. Rob Lewis II signed the order on June 29, moving Robert Earl Smith Jr. to the new location.

Smith is charged in the fatal beating of Arnette Richardson, a 66-year-old inmate at the Halifax County Detention Center. Richardson died from complications of multiple blunt force injuries, according to an autopsy report from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Halifax County Jailer R.M. Brown filed the request for Smith’s safekeeping elsewhere because the inmate was exhibiting “violently aggressive behavior that cannot be contained and warrants a higher level of supervision.” 

The request also notes that Smith needs to be protected from other inmates, stating that "the county jail facility cannot provide such protection."

Brown noted that because Smith allegedly “committed an assault that resulted in a homicide,” the defendant poses an imminent danger to the staff of the county jail and to other inmates. Halifax County Detention Center records currently list Wake County as Smith's confining agency.

In September 2025, the District 7 Public Defender’s Office filed a notice of defense stating that Smith intends to offer a defense at trial based on mental infirmity and diminished capacity.

At the time of the assault on March 20, 2025, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office charged Smith with attempted first-degree murder and assault inflicting serious bodily injury. 

After Richardson died approximately 10 days later, the charge was upgraded to murder. 

The sheriff’s office stated at the time that Smith assaulted his cellmate using his hands and feet. It remains unclear what prompted the assault.

Smith is scheduled for an administrative hearing on August 17.