How searching for a phone along the road ended with a man being held at gunpoint
A motorcyclist searching for his lost cellphone along a Loris road was held at gunpoint by a man who accused the biker of trying to steal a lawnmower, cops say.
The weekend encounter ended with Horry County police arresting the gunman, Talmadge Jacobs, 32, and charging him with first-degree assault and battery.
Jacobs was booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Monday and released after posting $5,000 bond.
Horry County police went to Fenway Park Lane in Loris Thursday for a reported larceny. While on the way, dispatchers told officers that someone was being held at gunpoint.
Officers arrived and found Jacobs standing over a person near the end of a driveway, according to a police report. Jacobs said the man was in his mother’s yard trying to steal her lawnmower. He said he caught the person and held him at gunpoint.
A witness saw the scene and asked if the man on the ground was OK. Jacobs then told the witness that if she didn’t leave, he would shoot her, the report states. Dispatchers heard that conversation as the woman reported the incident.
The man held at gunpoint told police he hit a pothole and lost his cellphone as he rode his motorcycle, the report states. The man said he turned into Jacob’s mother’s driveway to turn around, and parked along the road to search for the phone.
Jacobs pulled up and ordered the man to the ground while pointing a handgun at him, according to the report. The victim said he was held at gunpoint for walking down the road looking for his phone. At one point, the man said Jacobs pressed the gun to the back of his head.
Jacob’s mother told the officers she saw a light in her yard and thought someone was trying to steal her lawnmower, according to the report. Sshe admitted she never saw anyone on her property.
Officers could not find any evidence of the motorcycle being near the reported lawnmower larceny.
First-degree assault and battery is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 12:08 PM.
