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Tag: richland county sheriff’s department

  • Kroger hit by armed robber

    BLYTHEWOOD – A suspect wanted in connection with a strong-armed robbery at about 2:20 a.m. on May 22, rammed a grocery cart into an employee and ran from the store with a cart full of items from the Kroger store on Roberts Branch Parkway just off Killian Road.

    The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the community’s help in identifying the suspect, who was recorded on a surveillance camera fleeing the store (view video here) with approximately $100 worth of goods in a grocery cart.

    If you have any information about this incident, please contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME SC (888-274-6372).

  • Prowler caught on home surveillance in Blythewood

    BLYTHEWOOD – When Summer Pines resident Kristen Locklear received a text from her home surveillance system Saturday morning, April 28, she said she checked the camera video and found footage showing a male driving into the cul-de-sac where her home is located. The time on the video was 2:30 a.m.

    Prowler caught on surveillance video

    “He parked his car, a dark sedan, and calmly got out and walked up to our neighbor’s car in the driveway, looked in the window, then walked over to my husband’s personal pickup truck and then to his work truck, both parked in our driveway.  He looked in the windows and checked the tool boxes in the back of the truck. He attempted to open doors and tool boxes and appeared to be covering his hand with his sleeve so as not to leave fingerprints,” Locklear said.

    Locklear reported that the doors on the trucks were locked, and that there were no valuables in the vehicles, but that seeing the scene unfold on the video unnerved her.

    About five minutes after the man drove up, she said, he left.

    “He did not stop on his way in or out of our street to check any other vehicles. He came straight down into the cul de sac, parked and checked out all of our stuff, and then left. It looked like he had damage to the rear hubcap on the driver’s side of the car,” Locklear said.

    Locklear said she reported the incident to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. She said this was the second time this kind of incident has occurred at their home.

    Prowler caught on surveillance video

    “In October, 2016, burglars stole over $1,000 worth of items from my husband’s truck sitting in the driveway,” Locklear said.

    “We just hope everyone will be on the lookout for this man and his vehicle. Keep your car doors locked and don’t leave valuables in vehicles,” Locklear warned.

    Locklear described the suspect as a dark-skinned, tall, thin male, with short dark hair, a mustache and goatee, wearing jeans and a light colored hoodie.

  • Skimming device on Blythewood ATM

    Ionita, 17, is suspected of placing the device on the bank’s ATM.

    BLYTHEWOOD – When Blythewood resident Brandy Dunaway visited a Blythewood drive-thru ATM last Saturday, the card reader on the machine looked different. Dunaway, who was a victim of a skimming device at the same ATM a year earlier, was skeptical.

    The device was darker in color than the normal card reader and protruding from the ATM. When she tried to move it, it was loose.

    Dunaway called the Richland County Sheriff’s office, and, sure enough, it an object that steals credit card information had been placed over the ATM’s card reader.

    The suspect was captured on the ATM’s surveillance camera. Suraj Ionita, 17, was identified by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office as the alleged suspect in Dunaway’s case.

    Anyone who has information concerning the case or Ionita is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

  • Food Lion robbed at gunpoint

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is looking for two black males in connection with an armed robbery at the Food Lion Grocery Store located in the Food Lion Shopping Center on University Village Drive in Blythewood.

    The robbery occurred on Sunday evening at approximately 10:15 p.m., according to a Sheriff’s report. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department said the two robbers entered the store with hand guns and demanded money. The report stated that the amount taken is unknown.

    It is believed the subjects then fled the location on foot. Investigators said they are in the process of obtaining a video from the store.

    The Sheriff’s Department had not made an incident report available to The Voice at press time. The story will be updated as more information is available.

  • RCSD searching for missing 13 year-old with special needs

    COLUMBIA – Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is requesting the community’s assistance in locating a missing person.

    Campbell

    Sheriff Leon Lott states that Sherri Lynn Campbell was last seen at a relative’s home in Northeast Columbia on Sunday, April 1, 2018. It was at this home that Sherri Lyn took a green 1997 Jeep Cherokee with SC tag JFW416. Sherri Lyn’s mom discovered a disturbing note which led her to believe that her daughter may do harm to herself; being a special needs child has also caused great concerned for the family of Sherri Lyn.

    The Sheriff states that Sherri Lyn is described as a black female, 5’ 6” tall, black hair, brown eyes, weighs 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing an orange shirt and black and red Jordan sneakers.

    Anyone with information about Sherri Lynn should call, email or text your anonymous tip to 1-888-CRIME-SC.

    LOG onto: www.midlandscrimestoppers.com, and click on the “Submit a tip” tab.

  • BHS student with gun arrested

    BLYTHEWOOD – A 17- year old male student at Blythewood High School has been charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds and simple possession of marijuana. Richland County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested the student without incident.

    On Friday morning, March 23, a BHS School Resource Officer was notified by students about a video posted to Snapchat. The video was of the student, posing with a gun in the school’s parking lot. The student was identified and brought into the school administrator’s office.

    The Sheriff stated that marijuana was found in the student’s back pack and an unloaded handgun, with rounds in a magazine, located in his vehicle.

    The student was has been transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

  • Fairfield Deputy fired after arrest

    COLUMBIA – A Fairfield County Sheriff’s Deputy was relieved of his duties last week after he was charged with domestic violence 2nd degree and public disorderly conduct.

    Blake Justin Adams, 36, of Ridgeway, was arrested about 5 p.m. at 400 Princess Street in Columbia on Saturday, March 17, after he was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation with a woman that turned physical. The incident report states that Adams and the woman live together.

    According to the incident report, the woman struck Adams with an open hand, then Adams struck her twice on her face with an open hand. The victim was transported to Richland Memorial Hospital. Medical personnel reported that the woman’s nose was broken and possibly her lobe.

    The incident was reportedly witnessed by multiple people who provided written statements. It was reported that, while being detained, Adams became disorderly, uttering profanity in a loud and boisterous manner in a public roadway.

    “We got a call on Saturday that one of our deputies, Blake Adams, was arrested for an incident at Five Points during the St. Patrick’s Day event,” Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery told The Voice on Thursday, March 22. “We did an investigation and he was terminated on Tuesday night.”

    Adams was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia and released on a $257.50 personal recognizance bond for disorderly conduct and a $5,000 surety bond for domestic violence.

  • Sheriff Lott seeks theft suspects

    COLUMBIA – On Wednesday, March 7 around 6:20 p.m. at Jeep Rogers Family YMCA at Lake Carolina, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the report of theft from two motor vehicles.

    The suspect broke into the victim’s vehicle by smashing out the rear passenger window. The suspect then stole a Michael Kors purse, valued at $200, which contained the victim’s credit cards and driver’s license. The suspect attempted to use the stolen credit card at GameStop (461 Town Center Place) and at two additional locations.

    Sheriff Leon Lott stated that a second vehicle was broken into at Jeep Rogers Family YMCA; the suspect forced entry through the rear door window and stole a Michael Kors purse valued at $500, containing the victim’s wallet and credit cards. The Sheriff believes one of the suspects used one of the stolen cards at GameStop in the Village at Sandhill.

    Both suspects have been identified as black men, wearing athletic-type clothing.

    Video images of the suspects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhNTl7Yei0

    Sheriff Lott is seeking the community’s assistance in locating and identifying two suspects wanted on charges of theft from two motor vehicles. Anyone with information on this incident may call or email Crimestoppers to receive up to a $1000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

  • Prostitution sting nets 16

    RIDGEWAY – An undercover prostitution sting conducted by a tri-county task force that included the Fairfield County and Richland County Sheriffs’ Departments at the Ramada Inn in Ridgeway last Friday and Saturday night netted 16 arrests for prostitution and/or possession of drugs and/or possession with intent to distribute.

    Using the Backpage website, undercover officers made contact with the individuals via phone who arranged sexual encounters and drug deals at the Ramada Inn located at Exit 34 off I-77 where the offenders were subsequently arrested.

    Brad Edmond Howard, 38, and Melinda Medlin Leonard, 57, of Lexington; Amanda Elizabeth Jackson, 27; Ciara Shantae Palmer, 38, and George Stabler, 45, all of Columbia; Julio Cesar Morales, 33, and Shannon Franklin, 48, of West Columbia; Carlisha Shawashki, 31, of Cayce; and Nicholas Stack, 18, (address unknown), were each charged with prostitution and released on a $470 personal recognizance bond.

    Tara Nicole Prince, 38, of Winnsboro was charged with prostitution and possession of two grams of heroin with intent to distribute. She remains in the Fairfield County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond for the heroin charge and a personal recognizance bond of $470 for the prostitution charge.

    Two men, Damian Jujuan Swafford, 30, of Charleston and Paul Antonio Roberts, 34, of Lexington were identified in the incident report as drivers who were arrested for assisting in the solicitation process of two of the women charged.  Swafford and Roberts were each released on $470 personal recognizance bonds.

    Tyrone Brenton Lane, 27, and Tyquan Torrez Matthews, 20, both of Columbia, were charged with possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Each was released on a $5,000 bond.

    Adrian Keiwan Hammond, 40, of Columbia was charged with possession of cocaine base and marijuana. Ashley Nicole Werts, 30, of Elgin was charged with possession of an oxycodone pill. Each was released on a $5,000 bond.

  • UPDATE – Teen charged as adult for school threat

    BLYTHEWOOD – A 17-year-old has been accused of threatening to “shoot up” Westwood High School Friday morning, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

    Hilliard

    On Feb 16, at approximately 8 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department was alerted to a Twitter post made by Hilliard threatening Westwood. He was charged with unlawful communication and disturbing schools, Sheriff Leon Lott said in a news release.

    Hilliard turned himself into investigators at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters for what was termed by the RCSD Public Information office as “not a credible threat” and was arrested without incident. He was released on a $1,000 bond.

    The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating.

     

    BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announces the arrest of Kameron Hilliard, charged with unlawful communication and disturbing schools.

    On Feb. 16, at approximately 8:00AM citizens alerted the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to a Twitter post made by Hilliard threatening to shoot up Westwood High School. Hilliard turned himself into investigators at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters and was arrested without incident.

    The Sheriff stated that social media threats are taken very serious and will be prosecuted. Hilliard has been charged as an adult and transported to Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

    Published 2/16/18, Updated 2/22/18