Bystander, police nab fugitive in Myrtle Beach foot chase

Myrtle Beach police apprehended a fugitive Saturday – with the help of a bystander – after a report of a suspicious person led to a short foot chase.

Police responded to the report of a suspicious person in the parking lot of Beach Discount Beverage at 2204 N. Kings Highway at 1:45 p.m. and later found the suspect loitering in a parking lot one block away. When the responding officer ran the suspect’s name through the National Crime Information Center, it reported the suspect was wanted with full extradition.

But when the officer attempted to grab the offender’s wrist and handcuff him, the suspect pulled away and began to run east on 23rd Avenue North, according to police reports. The suspect was apprehended in a parking lot one block north with the help of a bystander and another officer.

Appearing lethargic, Beka Medzmariashvili, 21, told police he had swallowed three or four slips of heroin. Officers called an ambulance to the scene, but the offender refused transportation to the emergency room, according to the reports.

After arriving at the jail, officers say Medzmariashvili changed his mind and was transported to a local emergency room, where he remained under guard until he was cleared to return back to the Myrtle Beach Jail.

Medzmariashvili, who had been staying at a local motel, is being held under no bond for the fugitive warrant. He was also charged with loitering for the purposes of drug trafficking and resisting arrest.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Bystander, police nab fugitive in Myrtle Beach foot chase."