Police

GEORGETOWN COUNTY

Dog bound with duct tape retrieved from river

A dog bound with duct tape was pulled out of the International Paper Canal in Georgetown Monday night, authorities said.

A group of people setting up to fish at the IP Canal and Brick Chimney Road called the Georgetown County Sheriff’s office when they heard splashing noises coming from the other side of the bridge and found a dog flopping in the water, police said.

The dog, a black lab, had it’s front and back legs tied with duct tape and its muzzle was taped shut, police said.

Georgetown County fire helped to pull the dog out of the river. The dog, named Dara, was transported to St. Frances Animal Center for treatment and the tape was placed in evidence for fingerprint processing, the report said.

Dara is expected to make a full recovery, according to officials at St. Frances though she is being monitored for brain swelling and needs an ultrasound and an x-ray. The shelter is seeking donations to help with the medical bill, which can be mailed to SFAC 125 N Ridge Road, Georgetown, SC 29440. Write Re: Dara on the check or envelope. Donations can also be made online at sfanimals.org.

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH

Man charged with indecent exposure near hotel pool

A 61-year-old Taylors man was charged with fondling himself while standing near a North Myrtle Beach pool area, according to a police report.

Loi Ho, 61, of Taylors, was charged Monday afternoon with indecent exposure after North Myrtle Beach officers were called about 12:30 p.m. to the pool area of the Baywatch Resort at 2701 S. Ocean Blvd., police said.

Ho is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $5,000 bond, according to jail records.

A witness told police that they saw a man walk up to the glass separating a hallway from the pool area, pull down his pants and start fondling himself, according to the report. A witness also told police that they saw him do the same thing while standing near the laundry room Sunday night.

Ho, who did not speak English, spoke to officers while his daughter translated, but his information was not listed in the report.

MYRTLE BEACH

Dog bites man fighting with its owner

Myrtle Beach police are investigating a fight between two men in which one was bitten by a dog in the face after dispute over door locks being changed, according to a police report.

A 25-year-old man told police that he and a 29-year-old man got into a fight after the younger man went to 6308 Wedgewood St., at 10:15 p.m. Monday to change the door locks for a woman. Police responded to the scene after someone called 911 and hung up.

When officers arrived they found a group of people yelling at each other, according to the report. The younger man said the woman asked him to change the locks on her door and that an argument turned physical.

The younger man said the 29-year-old man’s dog bit him near the eye, which caused a cut, during the fight, according to the report. The older man told police an argument ended in the fight and the injuries were the result of the fight, not his dog.

Officers said the younger man had a small cut to his lip and right side of his forehead, according to the report. Both men had minor injuries to their knuckles.

The younger man was being “verbally combative” with the older man while police were at the scene, according to the report. Police forwarded the report to animal control officers to investigate the dog bite.

HORRY COUNTY

Arson charges follow vehicle fire

A Myrtle Beach man is facing arson charges following a vehicle fire late Monday.

Travis Andrew Degruccio, 21, is charged with arson and is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending a bond hearing.

Degruccio knocked on the door of a home on the 1700 block of Bay Tree Lane in Surfside Beach telling the residents their truck was on fire, according to a police report. Degruccio is accused of placing a gas container in the cab of the truck and lighting it on fire.

From staff reports