Sumter women involved in shoplifting that sparked police chase, shooting reportedly stole from other store same day

Two Sumter women arrested last week following an officer-involved shooting incident and police chase after allegedly shoplifting at a Wal-Mart were also involved in shoplifting at a North Myrtle Beach Wal-Mart the same morning as the chase, reports show.

Horry County police were called about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 10 to the Wal-Mart on Beaver Run Boulevard off S.C. 544 for a shoplifting incident, but when police approached Laquandra D. Borden, 25, of Sumter, she fled the scene, trapping an officer in her moving car in the process, authorities said.

Borden ignored pleas from police to stop, and another officer there who feared for the trapped policeman shot Borden in the arm, police said.

Borden temporarily slowed enough for the officer to free himself, and he suffered only minor injuries.

However, a gunshot wound didn’t stop Borden, who then led police on a chase through Myrtle Beach, which ended in front of St. Andrew Catholic Church near 37th Avenue North.

Borden was in police custody while she was at the hospital for the night, and Chasity S. Stokes, 36, of Sumter was later arrested in connection with shoplifting with Borden as well.

The pair’s alleged shoplifting spree began earlier that morning about 8:30 at Wal-Mart on U.S. 17 in North Myrtle Beach, according to a North Myrtle Beach police report.

Borden and Stokes went into the store and placed two large garbage cans in two shopping carts and went around filling them with $3,600 worth of merchandise, police said.

A store employee said he recognized the women from other incidents and monitored their movements in the store, according to the report.

The women then went out through the garden exit, but the store employee followed, and realizing they were being watched, the women left the merchandise and fled in a Jeep Wrangler, which was parked outside the garden center exit, authorities said.

Borden, Stokes, and an unknown woman were also allegedly involved in shoplifting the morning of Aug. 5 at the North Myrtle Beach Wal-Mart. The trio allegedly took shaving products, cosmetics, a 42-inch flat screen television, and other items in that incident, which was captured on store surveillance, officers said.

Police are continuing to catch up with Borden’s alleged past thefts, and she was booked into the Myrtle Beach Jail on Monday on a breach of trust charge after about $1,474 worth of merchandise was recovered from a Myrtle Beach pawn shop in late September after it was taken from a Conway Wal-Mart, according to jail records.

Borden sold merchandise to Steve’s Pawn Shop in Myrtle Beach including three Mophie-brand juice pack chargers, two Braun 5 Series razors, one Toshiba Canvio Connect II hard drive, six Linksys Max-Stream routers, three Mach 3 Turbo razors, one Quicken Home/Business for Windows program, one Crest 3D white strips, one Asus wireless router, and one Brother Serge sewing machine, the report shows.

The charge was added to Borden’s others, along with $10,000 bond, and she was taken back to J. Reuben Long Detention Center where she remains, records show.

Conway police reports outline Borden’s alleged involvement in several shoplifting incidents Aug. 8, Sept. 4, Sept. 9 and Sept. 17 at the Wal-Mart on Church Street.

An unknown woman was reportedly involved in the incidents and a 22-year-old man named Donald Prince was also involved in two of the incidents and was arrested Sept. 17 after fleeing the Wal-Mart on foot. Police caught up with Prince while he was swimming across a pond, the report stated.

Prince of Sumter was booked at J. Reuben Long Sept. 17 and released Sept. 18 on $5,000 bail after being charged with shoplifting more than $2,000 but less than $10,000, according to jail records.

In each shoplifting incident, reports show the same method of filling plastic containers with store merchandise was used, including in the latest incident that sparked the police chase.

Borden and Stokes allegedly took more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from the Wal-Mart off S.C. 544 that day, including multiple electronics, clothing, and other items and left through the garden center exit, according to an Horry County police arrest warrant.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the officer-involved shooting that happened Nov. 10 when Borden fled the scene. The officer, an eight-year veteran of the Horry County Police Department, has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the results of SLED’s investigation, police said.

The officer’s name has not been released. The SLED investigation is ongoing, Thom Berry, SLED spokesman said.

“The independent investigation follows SLED’s guidance in conducting interviews, along with the gathering and analysis of forensic evidence. Interviews are being conducted with responding officers and others. There is dash cam and body cam of the incident,” Berry said in a press release.

The camera footage mentioned will be released once SLED officials are finished with their investigation, and information gathered in the case with be summarized and submitted to prosecutors in the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Officials said they aren’t releasing any further details about the investigation while it’s ongoing.

This incident was the 43rd officer-involved shooting in the state in 2015 and the second this year involving an officer with the Horry County Police Department. The other involving an Horry County officer happened in July at Flintlake Apartments after officers responded to a domestic dispute there.

In 2014, 42-officer-involved shooting incidents occurred in South Carolina, two of which involved HCPD officers, according to the SLED release.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Sumter women involved in shoplifting that sparked police chase, shooting reportedly stole from other store same day."