Two Myrtle Beach men arrested in connection with Crown Reef shooting
Two Myrtle Beach men were arrested Wednesday in connection with a shooting at the Crown Reef Resort that happened on Saturday.
Ryan Lee Lafollette, 27, is facing charges of armed robbery, criminal conspiracy, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, authorities said.
Patrick Larkin Hill, Jr., 18, is charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, police said.
Officers with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, ATF Gang Task Force and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division made the arrests, according to Myrtle Beach police.
About 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, the bang of shots rang out at the Crown Reef Resort at 2913 S. Ocean Blvd. where the pair were involved in “an illegal narcotics sales transaction on the top level parking deck,” according to arrest warrants. During the drug deal, Lafollete pulled out a gun and robbed Hill of his narcotics, arrest warrants say.
The warrants allege that Hill then pulled out a gun and fired at Lafollete, striking an unoccupied vehicle and a vehicle with two people inside who were driving up the ramp to the top level of the parking garage.
Both victims in the vehicle ducked down to avoid the gunfire as Hill continued to shoot, warrants state.
On Wednesday, about 10.7 grams of marijuana was discovered in Hill’s room as authorities executed a search, an arrest warrant says.
The incident at the Crown Reef was just one out of a wave of violence that shook up the city and gained national attention.
Just 10 minutes before shots were fired at the Crown Reef Resort, shots were fired at the Coastal Grand Mall in an incident that was dubbed a “drug deal gone bad” by Myrtle Beach police Interim Chief Amy Prock. Two others were arrested in connection with that shooting.
Following the Crown Reef Resort incident, multiple others happened during the weekend and Monday night, which prompted Myrtle Beach City Council to hold a special meeting to address the violence and discuss solutions.
One solution given by city leaders at the meeting was to place to temporarily place barricades along parts of Ocean Boulevard in effort to control crowds. Those barricades went up Thursday morning.
On Thursday, Gov. Henry McMaster visited Myrtle Beach to meet with law enforcement to talk about tactics to combat the violence plaguing the area.
This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Two Myrtle Beach men arrested in connection with Crown Reef shooting."