Up in smoke: Suspect flees his Horry County trial after asking to go out for cigarette
Cutting an ankle monitor and fleeing the courthouse didn’t help one man avoid conviction in Horry County.
A jury found Devin Lavar Outen, 36, of Conway, guilty of attempted first-degree burglary, despite him not being present for his two-day trial.
Jimmy Richardson, Solicitor for the 15th Judicial District, said earlier this week the sides were starting jury selection and Outen asked his lawyer if he could smoke a cigarette. Outen then cut off his ankle monitor and ran off, Richardson said. The judge allowed the case to move forward without the suspect present.
“It doesn’t happen often,” Richardson said of someone running off on the eve of trial.
Police charged Outen for a July 2018 burglary. The victim called 911 to report a man used a tire iron to force open her back door. She grabbed a gun and ran out the front door, prosecutors said.
The victim testified she shot twice at a man near her home and thought she hit him, according to the solicitor’s office. The man then got into a car and tried to drive away, but hit a ditch. The suspect then ran into the woods.
Horry County police found Outen near S.C. Highway 544 and arrested him. He was shot in the stomach and went to the hospital.
Outen faces up to 15 years in prison after his conviction. His sentence was sealed after his trial, and will be handed down when police find him. Anyone with information on his location is asked to contact police.
