Backpack, hockey mask, drugs: Man arrested after bizarre encounter in someone’s yard

A man was arrested early Sunday morning after police found drugs on him while he was hiding in someone’s backyard near a backpack and hockey mask, according to a Myrtle Beach Police Department report.

Police responded to a home off Maple Street in Myrtle Beach a little after 3 a.m. following an anonymous report of two individuals who were possibly armed running behind the location, the police report states.

Upon arrival, police located one suspect, who was hiding behind the home in a fenced-in backyard and had no explanation for being there, police say. Police detained the suspect and later found a backpack lying next to a hockey mask, according to the report.

The suspect identified the backpack as his, told police he didn’t know the owner of the house and had no explanation as to why he was there, police say. He was then placed under arrest for loitering with a harmful purpose, the report states.

A search revealed the suspect had 12 pills, later identified as clonazepam, a schedule 4 controlled substance, in his jacket pocket, according to the report. The suspect, 24-year-old Nicholas Wair Hayes Jr., told police he had a prescription for other controlled substances, but not the one in his possession at the time, the report states.

Hayes was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Records show Hayes has been arrested several times previously this year, including the most recent charge for trespassing in September.

This story was originally published December 2, 2018 at 12:25 PM.