Myrtle Beach police have charged two people - one of whom has been arrested 22 times - in connection with a string of armed robberies at area businesses, said Capt. David Knipes.
Geri Elizabeth Hamilton, 44, and Bernard Charles Foster, 38, were arrested Tuesday night on traffic charges unrelated to the robberies, Knipes said. Police linked the couple to a string of robberies at Myrtle Beach payday lending companies and hotels.
Hamilton and Foster were each charged with six counts of armed robbery and nine counts of kidnapping in connection with the incidents that began late July. Hamilton also faces charges of turning unlawfully and disregarding a stop sign while Foster faces a littering charge.
Hamilton and Foster appeared before a Myrtle Beach judge Thursday and bail was denied for Foster, said Shelly Askey, Myrtle Beach Court Clerk. Bond was set at $240,000 for Hamilton.
Since 1990, records with the State Law Enforcement Division show that Foster has been arrested 22 times and served prison sentences for offenses that include grand larceny, breaking and entering a vehicle, robbery, criminal domestic violence, escape and possession of controlled substances.
His most recent arrests were in December, and charges that are pending include criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, petty larceny and malicious injury to personal property.
The pair was in police custody late Thursday and transferred from the Myrtle Beach Jail to J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
The robbery and kidnapping charges stem from incidents that occurred at 10 p.m. Monday at the Boardwalk Beach Resort at 2301 N. Ocean Boulevard; at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Sun Fun Motel at 2305 Withers Drive; on Aug. 4 at the Holiday Shores at 7501 N. Ocean Boulevard; and two check cashing businesses that were robbed in late July, police said.
In the incidents a man armed with a gun demanded money from the clerk or employee, police said. At the motels, the man first inquired about getting a room before the robbery.
SLED records show Hamilton was arrested in 1999, 2000 and 2001 on fraudulent check charges.
E-Mail
Print
The Sun News Terms & Conditions and Commenting Policies can be reviewed here.