TheSunNews.com: Crime

Myrtle Beach woman charged after man reports being hit in head with gin bottle

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:22 EDT

A Myrtle Beach woman was charged after a man reported being hit in the head with a bottle of gin because the woman accused him of cheating on her, according to a police report.

Shonda Renee Wilson, 39, was charged with second-offense criminal domestic violence after officers were called at 10:30 p.m. Monday to 406 Eighth Ave. S., police said.

The 47-year-old man told police that at 4:30 p.m. Monday he called Wilson to see how she was doing and she told him she had found a feminine hygiene product in the trash can that was not hers, according to the report. The victim said when he got home several hours later, he started watching a basketball game and Wilson accused him of cheating on her.

Myrtle Beach man charged with stealing electricity from neighbor, razor from Wal-Mart

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:57 EDT

A Myrtle Beach man was charged in connection with several incidents that occurred late last year in the city and one unrelated domestic assault, according to authorities.

Michael Wixted Faile, 31, was charged with two counts of first-offense theft of electric current in connection with electricity being stolen from his neighbor in December; one count of shoplifting with a value of $2,000 or less in connection with an electric razor being stolen from Wal-Mart; breach of trust/obtaining property under false circumstances in connection with trying to return the electric razor to Wal-Mart; and second-offense criminal domestic violence, according to jail records.

Details about the domestic assault were not immediately available.

Conway woman charged after police find blood, knives inside home, man injured

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:25 EDT

A 27-year-old woman was charged with domestic assault after a man suffered a cut on his arm and police found two knives and a lot of blood inside the home the couple shared near Conway, according to an Horry County police report.

Marnaquais Nicole Herion, 27, of Conway is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending a bond hearing on a charge of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, according to jail records. She was booked into the jail at 2:50 p.m. Monday.

Horry County police were called about 5:30 p.m. April 1 to Lee Hucks Lane near Conway for a domestic assault, according to the report. A 19-year-old woman, who lives at the home, told officers that Herion and a 24-year-old man had left in Herion’s vehicle to go to the hospital.

Horry County woman charged after man reports being assaulted with tent stake

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:36 EDT

An Horry County woman was charged with domestic assault after police learned a man accused her of assaulting him with a tent stake, according to a police report.

Brenda Dorothy Fritzinger, 41, of Galivants Ferry was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 1:38 a.m. Monday, according to jail records. She is being held pending a bond hearing.

Fritzinger told police she called 911about 12 a.m. Monday because she had argued with a 41-year-old man, who she is in the process of separating from, according to the report. Fritzinger said the couple only argued in the home they share on Ralph Road in Galivants Ferry.

Bodies of two children found at east Lincoln construction site

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:13 EDT

A 13-hour search for two young cousins buried in the collapse of a construction site in eastern Lincoln County ended around daybreak Monday with the discovery of the bodies.

The body of 6-year-old Chloe Jade Arwood, 6, of Gastonia, was found about 6 a.m. An hour later, crews discovered the body of 7-year-old James Levi Caldwell, of Stanley.

They were found under about 24 feet of dirt in an excavated site on Cedarbrook Drive, a gravel road near the Lucia community. It is off Old Plank Road, a few miles west of N.C. 16 and about 20 miles northwest of Charlotte.

Man indicted in February shooting at Conway club

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:07 EDT

A Conway man was indicted on assault and weapon charges in connection with a shooting in February, according to court records.

Arsenio Rayeem Legette, 23, of Conway was indicted on charges of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Legette has been held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center since Feb. 6 and remains there on $70,000 bond, according to jail records.

Myrtle Beach trauma surgeon charged with domestic assault

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:55 EDT

The trauma director of a Myrtle Beach area hospital has been charged with criminal domestic violence following an incident with his estranged wife, according to an Horry County police report released Monday.

Lewis Garrett Dickinson, 46, of Myrtle Beach was booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 4:23 p.m. Friday and released at 4:14 p.m. Saturday on $2,130 bail, according to jail records.

Dickinson is the medical director of trauma service at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, according to the hospital’s website. Dickinson also practices at Grand Strand Surgical Specialists, according to that website.

Delays expected on U.S. 501 in Conway following vehicle crash

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:53 EDT

Emergency officials have closed one lane of northbound U.S. 501 in Conway near King Street for a vehicle crash, according to Conway police.

The road is expected to be reduced by at least one lane of travel for the next 30 minutes, police said at 2:50 p.m. Monday.

Motorists in that area should find an alternative route and expect delays.

Woman reports harassment while walking from Myrtle Beach area gentleman’s club

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:31 EDT

A 22-year-old woman told Myrtle Beach police that two men harassed her as she walked home after visiting a gentleman’s club in the area, according to a police report.

The victim called police at 6 a.m. Sunday to the lobby of Bay View Hotel at 504 N. Ocean Blvd., where she sought safe place after the incident, police said.

The victim told officers she had been at the Bunny Ranch gentleman’s club with her cousin and her cousin’s boyfriend drinking and she left alone, according to the report. The victim said she was walking along the ocean side of the hotel when two men walked up and asked her for her telephone number.

N.C. teen charged after dispute over Myrtle Beach roadway being blocked by van

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:30 EDT

A North Carolina woman was charged with assault after Myrtle Beach officers responded to a call about a van blocking the road on Ocean Boulevard during the weekend, according to a police report.

Sadorien Aude Sheard, 18, of Charlotte, N.C., was charged with third-degree assault and battery after officers were called at 12 a.m. Sunday to the 100 block of South Ocean Boulevard for the incident.

A 42-year-old woman told police that she was driving through a parking lot looking for a space, but encountered Sheard at a van with its door open, according to the report. The victim told police that Sheard yelled an obscenity and told the victim to ask nicely and she would shut the door of the van to allow the victim to pass.

Police charge Maryland man with exposing himself to woman, 3 kids at North Myrtle Beach basketball court

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:02 EDT

A Maryland man facing an exposure charged after a weekend incident at a North Myrtle Beach area basketball court remained jailed Monday on $7,620 bail, according to an Horry County police report.

Police charged John Christopher Dowell, 38, of Baltimore, Md., with indecent exposure and simple possession of marijuana after officers responded to a call 2 p.m. Saturday at 410 31st Ave., S., in North Myrtle Beach.

Dowell was booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and was being held there Monday, according to jail records.

Fire damages North Myrtle Beach house

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:58 EDT

North Myrtle Beach firefighters extinguished a house fire about 12 p.m. Monday along 53rd Avenue North, said Pat Dowling, city spokesman.

The fire was reported at 337 53rd Ave. N., and sustained significant damage, Dowling said. No one was hurt during the incident.

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

Myrtle Beach police investigate hotel office burglary

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:03 EDT

Myrtle Beach police are investigating a burglary at a hotel office, which happened Sunday morning while the clerk escorted a police officer to a public intoxication call at the resort, according to a police report.

The 21-year-old clerk told the officer that she locked up the office of the Polynesian Resort at 1001 S. Ocean Blvd., to escort an officer to a public intoxication call about 5:45 a.m. Sunday, police said.

The clerk noticed when she returned to the office that the office cabinet, which had a pad lock on it, was burglarized and her purse was missing, according to the report. Officers watched the surveillance video and saw a man enter the office from the bathroom where a panel was pushed out of the window.

Horry County to combat gun violence with gun buyback, peace festival

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:27 EDT

A community coalition in Horry County hopes to combat gun violence with a gun buyback initiative and a peace rally, said Catina Hipp spokeswoman for Conway police.

The coalition is comprised of all local law enforcement agencies and the S.C. Highway Patrol, the Department of Juvenile Justics, Waccamaw EOC, the Housing Authority of Conway, Horry Georgetown Technical College, Coastal Carolina University the Horry County School District and other businesses.

The group will host the Stop the Violence Peace Festival and Countywide Community Safety Rally on April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Conway.

Third grader at Ocean Bay Elementary School suspended for bringing butter knife to school

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:05 EDT

A third grade student at Ocean Bay Elementary School was suspended Monday pending a hearing when she brought a metal butter knife to school, said Teal Harding, spokeswoman for Horry County Schools.

The knife, with a 4.5 inch blade, was found during snack time and reported at 10 a.m., Harding said.

“If a kid comes through with a knife, that’s an offense in and of itself,” she said.

Fire in Socastee backs up traffic on 544

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:15 EDT

A family of five was displaced by a structure fire in Socastee according to the Horry County Fire Rescue.

The fire occurred in the 7700 block of S.C. 544 Sunday afternoon. Fire investigators determined to origin of the fire to be an electrical outlet.

Crews working to put out the fire backed up traffic on 544 for a period of time Sunday afternoon.

Myrtle Beach airport receives bomb threat

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:19 EDT

A bomb threat was made at Myrtle Beach International Airport Saturday morning, according to airport spokesman Kirk Lovell.

The bomb squad from the Horry County Police Department responded to the threat, said Sgt. Robert Kegler.

Lovell said airport personnel received a phone call mid-morning, around 10:30 a.m., and followed normal procedures for evacuating the building. Nothing was found, and the airport is operating normally.

SC Sheriffs in trouble – ‘dropping like flies’

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:00 EDT

Sheriffs getting in trouble has been standard fare in South Carolina, not quite as ubiquitous as barbecue or football, but always there.

From Fairfield County Sheriff Bubba Montgomery, who was convicted in 1992 of using prisoners to work on his lake home, to Williamsburg County Sheriff Theo McFarlin, sent to prison on cocaine charges in 1998, to Lee County Sheriff E.J. Melvin, sent to prison in 2011 for taking bribes from alleged drug dealers, some sheriffs have made the wrong kind of headlines.

But in the past year or so, a whole new passel of sheriffs appears to have outdone themselves in getting on the wrong side of the law.

Trio indicted in Myrtle Beach area home invasion

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:48 EDT

Two Myrtle Beach men and a Garden City Beach woman were indicted by an Horry County grand jury on charges connected to a February home invasion, according to court records.

Toni Ann Pasquale, 26, of Garden City Beach, Kenneth Jordan Bell, 21, and Christopher Ryan Bell, 27, both of Myrtle Beach were each indicted on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and first-degree burglary in connection with the Feb. 2 incident in the Myrtle Beach area, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Pasquale also was indicted on a charge of accessory before the fact of burglary, while Christopher Bell and Kenneth Bell were also each indicted on charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to the indictments.

Myrtle Beach man indicted in New Year’s Day assault

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:07 EDT

A Myrtle Beach man was indicted by an Horry County grand jury on a charge of attempted murder in the New Year’s Day beating of a 24-year-old man, according to court records.

Efrem Arthur Barnard, 24, of Myrtle Beach was indicted on an attempted murder charge, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Barnard was arrested Jan. 1 and released March 30 on $20,000 bail, according to records at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Georgetown County deputies search for suspects in taxi driver robbery

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:11 EDT

Deputies with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s office are searching for two people wanted in connection with the armed robbery of a taxi cab driver Thursday night in the Pawleys Island area, according to authorities.

Deputies were called about 7:45 p.m. Thursday to the parking lot at 10434 Ocean Highway in Pawleys Island after the men approached the driver while he stood outside his vehicle, said Carrie Cuthbertson, public information officer for the Georgetown County Sheriff’s office.

The men demanded money from the driver and assaulted him with a handgun before they ran away with an undisclosed amount of cash, Cuthbertson said. Deputies set up a perimeter around the parking lot area and the Georgetown County Sheriff’s bloodhound tracking team also responded.

Conway woman indicted in sexual assault of boy

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:09 EDT

A Conway woman was indicted on a sexual assault charge in connection with the assault of an 8-year-old boy last year, according to court records.

Donna Jean Martin, 36, of Conway was indicted on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to indictments released Tuesday. The incident occurred between January 2009 and June 26.

Horry County police arrested Martin on the charges in July and she was released about a month later on $10,000 bail, according to jail records.

Delays expected on U.S. 17 in Murrells Inlet for vehicle crash, one lane closed

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:29 EDT

At least two people were hurt during a vehicle crash on U.S. 17, which is also known as Ocean Highway, in the Murrells Inlet community that has one lane of the road closed, according to authorities.

Bob Beebe with Midway Fire reported that two people were transported to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center for evaluation and one southbound lane was closed for the crash at Wesley Road until about 11:30 a.m. Friday.

The crash was reported at 10:22 a.m. Friday, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol website.

Conway man indicted on assault, kidnapping charges

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:49 EDT

An Horry County grand jury indicted a Conway man on charges of kidnapping and assault in connection with an incident involving a 23-year-old woman in January, according to court records.

Jermaine Stefan Hills, 33, of Conway was indicted on kidnapping and second-degree assault and battery in the Dec. 27 incident involving his 23-year-old girlfriend, who said he assaulted her because he suspected she was cheating on him, according to officials.

Hills has been free on $4,500 bail since his arrested on Jan. 24, according to jail records.

Myrtle Beach man indicted on attempted murder charge in January shooting

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:25 EDT

A Myrtle Beach man was indicted on an attempted murder in connection with a shooting in January, according to court records.

David Daniel Cordova, 20, of Myrtle Beach was indicted on charges of resisting arrest and attempted murder in the Jan. 16 incident, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Cordova was jailed at 4:02 a.m. Jan. 16 and remains held on $22,000 bond, according to records at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Conway man indicted on weapon, assault charges in dispute over picnic table sale

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:13 EDT

A Conway man was indicted on charges in connection with a 42-year-old woman being shot at in January after a dispute about the sale of a picnic table, according to court records.

James Paul Rowe, 50, of Conway was indicted on attempted murder and unlawful possession of a pistol charges in connection with the incident that occurred on Jan. 6, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Rowe remains held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $50,000 bond, according to jail records.

Little River woman, who said man was “Satan’s spawn, indicted on attempted murder charge

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:40 EDT

A Little River woman was indicted on an attempted murder charge in connection with the November stabbing of a man, who she told police was “Satan’s spawn,” according to authorities.

Tammy Darlene Estep, 36, of Little River was indicted on an attempted murder charge, according to indictments released Tuesday.

Estep was jailed at 8:55 a.m. Nov. 9 and remains held without bond, according to records at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Horry County, Loris fire crews respond to early morning house fire

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:32 EDT

Horry County fire crews found fire coming through the roof of a home in the Cherry Hill section of the county early Friday, according to authorities.

Fire crews were called to a home located on Canady Lane, which is located off Secondary Highway 66 near Red Bluff Road outside of Loris, said Justin Gibbins, an Horry County Fire Rescue battalion chief.

The building was about a 1,500-square-foot block building and had flames coming from the roof of it when crews arrived, according to Loris Volunteer Fire Department officials. Members of the Horry County Fire Rescue and Loris department responded to the blaze.

Little River man charged in assault of 19-year-old woman, baby

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:42 EDT

A 23-year-old Little River man was charged in connection with the assault of a 19-year-old woman and a baby, according to an Horry County police report.

Jeffery Michael Landacre, 23, of Little River was charged with first-offense criminal domestic violence and unlawful neglect of a child and booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 12:23 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records. He was released at 3:58 p.m. on $15,000 bail.

Horry County police charged Landacre after officers were called at 2 p.m. March 26 to a home on North Horseshoe Road in Little River for a domestic disturbance, according to the report. The victim told police she had argued with Landacre and he pushed her to the ground, which caused her to hit her head on the bed rail.

Highway Patrol reports fatality in S.C. 707 crash

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:30 EDT

The S.C. Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash on S.C. 707 near the Horry County line that happened Friday afternoon, according to the agency’s website.

The crash was first reported at 12:47 p.m., but the fatality was not reported until Friday evening.

Details of the crash were not immediately available and the Georgetown County coroner could not immediately be reached.