They gave a man in Aynor $9 to get a haircut and left with $3,000 and a stolen handgun

Horry County Police have arrested a man accused of armed robbery at an Aynor residence in May 2018.

Mark Anthony Nelson, 23, of Whiteville, N.C., was arrested Tuesday on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and grand larceny between $2,000 and $10,000, according to J Reuben Long Detention Center records.

He is one of two alleged assailants who arrived with a female guest invited to the home off Highway 319 to bring a man $9 so he could get a haircut, according to an Horry County Police report. The man planned to get additional money for the haircut from someone else, the report states.

The female arrived with two or three other females and two males in what was believed to be a white Hyundai Sonata.

According to alleged victims and witnesses in the report, a second suspect walked up behind a male victim and placed his arm around the victim’s neck. The victim reached up and pulled a necklace off of the suspect’s neck, and the suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and told him “not to move or he would blow his head off.”

Nelson then allegedly pointed a handgun at the victim and told the witness who received the $9 not to move.

The victim was told to get on the floor and a suspect removed his wallet containing about $3,000 cash and his cell phone from his pockets. Either Nelson or the other suspect also took a black handgun that belonged to a second victim from a counter, the report states.

After Nelson and his alleged accomplice left the residence in the white car with the group of females, they drove down Highway 319 in the direction of Conway. A victim said he attempted to follow them but could not locate the vehicle.

This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 9:34 PM.