81-year-old Horry County woman wrongfully arrested, spent night in jail, lawsuit says

An elderly woman was arrested, booked and spent a night in a jail cell for a crime she didn’t commit, according to a lawsuit filed against the Horry County Police Department.

The lawsuit, filed March 2, says that on Nov. 5, 2021, a Little River Dollar General store contacted the Horry County Police Department in response to a “nonviolent, non-urgent, shoplifting incident.”

According to the lawsuit, no items left the store, and the items that the individual attempted to steal were worth less than $60.

Plaintiff attorneys Christopher Kinon and Tamra Boyer declined a request for comment.

Dollar General is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit as well.

Upon arrival, a Dollar General employee gave the license plate of a Nissan Pathfinder and informed Horry County Police Officer Eric Zink that the suspect was an African-American woman in her 80s, the suit says.

Zink found multiple residents associated with the vehicle, including Helen Wilburn, 81, the plaintiff. After being shown a photo of only Wilburn, the employee told the officers that she was the shoplifter.

Zink asked the employee if she would like to prosecute, according to the lawsuit.

She said yes and that she was “tired of these people stealing.”

The lawsuit says that upon looking at surveillance video from the Dollar General, Zink told the employee that he couldn’t identify the suspect’s face.

Zink and two officers went to Wilburn’s house. The vehicle associated with the case was located at the house behind her.

Wilburn was in her nightgown when officers began to question her, according to the lawsuit.

After several attempts to plead innocence, Wilburn was arrested, booked and spent a night at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Her son, Marcus Calwise, is listed as another plaintiff. According to the lawsuit, Calwise was handcuffed and threatened with physical violence by police officers if he didn’t comply.

After reviewing surveillance video, Zink told another officer that he had arrested the wrong person, but did not say he had booked her.

After reviewing the surveillance video, “it became apparent Ms. Wilburn was not the correct suspect,” the lawsuit says.

Criminal proceedings against Wilburn continued for almost a year before the charges were ultimately dismissed and taken off the Horry County Public Index.

The suit lists eight causes of action, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, slander, libel, negligence and negligent supervision.