He may be the most arrested man in Myrtle Beach. He’ll soon be back on the streets.
Bobby Joe Buffkin who might be the most arrested man in Myrtle Beach will soon be back in the community.
Buffkin has nearly 200 criminal charges to his name, dating as far back as 1992. Most of his charges have been within the last decade and the vast majority are within Myrtle Beach. Buffkin’s mugshot frequently appears in daily jail inventories— sometimes multiple times in the same week.
Many of his arrests are so-called nuisance crimes — charges such as public intoxication or trespassing. Few of his previous charges carry prison sentences, mostly small fines and a few weeks of jail time.
The only other person with a case count similar to Buffkin in recent memory is Jane Lee, who has nearly 250 charges in Horry County. But, many of her charges are in Conway. That makes Buffkin, likely, the most arrested person in Myrtle Beach.
But, that changed in March when Myrtle Beach police charged Buffkin with strong-armed robbery and public intoxication. It’s one of the few times he has faced a felony charge that carried a lengthy prison sentence.
Buffkin was in Horry County court on Wednesday to plead guilty to one count of purse snatching stemming from the March arrest. That charge carries a penalty of three years in prison, but again Buffkin escaped a lengthy prison sentence.
Assistant Solicitor Rachel Gainey said Buffkin approached the victim and asked for medication from the victim’s backpack. When the victim refused, Buffkin tried to steal the bag.
Gainey said the circumstances tended more toward a purse snatching charge than a robbery. The victim did receive their bag back.
Buffkin’s previous criminal history was never mentioned during the hearing.
Judge William Seals sentenced Buffkin to time served—he had spent 197 days in J. Reuben Long Detention Center since his March arrest—on the reduced purse-snatching charge.
That means Buffkin will likely be released from jail on Tuesday and free to return to the community.
