One charged with murder as warrants detail drugs, weapons in Myrtle Beach motel room
Myrtle Beach police have charged a man with murder in a fatal motel shooting this week.
Jeffrey Seth Eckard, 33, faces a murder count.
In addition to the murder charge, Eckard is charged with armed robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, trafficking heroin, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of crack cocaine, possession of a schedule IV substance, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, two counts of unlawful neglect of a child, and simple possession of marijuana.
Warrants released by Myrtle Beach police detail the drug-filled Ocean Boulevard motel room where Jermaine Stewart was found dead early Thursday morning.
Eight people were arrested, including two juveniles, and five were charged with drug trafficking and weapons charges. At a bond hearing Friday a judge revealed that all of the five were repeat offenders who had prior narcotics charges.
Police are still looking for a ninth suspect.
Eckard is the only one charged so far in Stewart’s death.
The crime
Officers were called to the Waterpark Motel at 1201 S. Ocean Blvd., about 1:30 a.m. after a body was found with fatal gunshot wounds on the second floor of a motel room, Myrtle Beach Police Cpl. Thomas Vest said.
That night, the Horry County Coroner’s Office identified the man who was killed as 43-year-old Stewart, of Conway.
During the investigation, detectives found more evidence at Motel 6 on Frontage Road East that led them to a third hotel. Officials did not provide details about what was found at Motel 6.
Officers found drugs and a second man suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound at Bermuda Sands at 104 N. Ocean Blvd.
Warrants give new details
Warrants reviewed by The Sun News show new details from the motel room where the suspects were arrested. Police said during a Friday bond hearing that the five people charged all lived at the Waterpark Motel.
Most of them denied the charges.
Police responded to the motel room and found Stewart dead from gunshot wounds. They also found a black Highpoint CF380 .38 caliber gun and heroin, meth and crack cocaine.
Michael Phillips, 30, was charged with accessory after the fact of a felony, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, trafficking heroin and methamphetamine, possession of crack cocaine and a schedule IV substance, and simple possession of marijuana.
Police said he helped hide the gun used in the attempted robbery that led to the shooting. They also said he had 32.4 grams of methamphetamine, 11.05 grams of heroin and .95 grams of crack cocaine in the room. Police found pills identified as alprazolam, commonly used as anxiety medicine, in the room as well.
A Myrtle Beach judge denied Phillips bond on the trafficking charges. He had previous convictions from 2014 and 2016.
Melissa Hudson, 28, faced similar charges and an additional charge of credit card theft. Police say they found her wallet containing two credit cards that did not belong to her. Her bond for that charge was set at $35,615.
At the time of her arrest, Hudson was out on bond for a 2019 drug trafficking charge in Greenville. The magistrate judge, who set the bonds for all the other charges, was not able to set the bond on Hudson’s drug trafficking charges. Because she is out on bail for another violent charge — the 2019 charge in Greenville — a circuit court judge must set her bond for the Myrtle Beach drug trafficking charge.
Melissa Funderburk, 38, was charged with possession of crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, and simple possession of marijuana. Police say they found under a gram of heroin, methamphetamine and crack cocaine in a cigarette pack in the room. She has previous convictions from 2019 and 2020, according to warrants. Her bond was set at $30,615.
Marion Couick, 51, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, heroin, and crack cocaine and simple possession of marijuana. He has previous convictions from 2017 and 2019. His bond was set at $45,615.
Bohannon Martin, 30, was charged with trafficking crack cocaine after police said they found 27.6 grams of it in a shoe. His bond was set at $50,000.
Police ask anyone with more information on the crime to call them at 843-918-1904 or 843-918-1911.
This story was originally published March 28, 2021 at 3:14 PM.
