Car break-ins reported near Ruffin
The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a string of car break-ins around the Ruffin area of Lowcountry Highway. On May 5, a Colleton County deputy's vehicles were targeted. During these break-ins, valuable items are being taken. The investigation remains open and active; therefore, further information is limited at this time. The sheriff’s office encourages residents to remove valuable items from their vehicles, lock their cars and to report suspicious activity immediately at 843-549-2211.
Man reports road rage
A driver reported April 29 he was threatened with a pistol in an apparent case of road rage.
The driver told officers he was following a Nissan on Hampton Street that was driving erratically — failing to stay in the correct lane, aggressively braking and then accelerating. The driver stopped at the intersection of Hampton Street and Robertson Boulevard and the driver reported that he exited his vehicle and attempted to prevent the man from proceeding. When the driver got to the Nissan’s door, the man allegedly pointed a pistol at him, the driver said. The man stood in front of the man’s car and blocked the car with his vehicle, but the man left and went to a home on Hayden Street. The driver followed. The man alleged went into the home, came back out and drove to a business on Hampton Street. The driver followed again.
The man said the driver was following too closely in his tow truck. He said he accelerated to 30 mph in an attempt to create space between the two vehicles, but the tow truck continued to follow closely. He said when he stopped, the tow truck driver approached him in an aggressive manner and he lifted his shirt to reveal his holstered pistol. The driver then stood in front of his car. He said he never pointed the pistol at the other driver.
A witness, however, said in the report that they saw the man point a pistol at the tow truck driver.
The investigation continues.
Shots fired
near Church Street
Walterboro Police officers responded to a report of shots being fired near Church Street on April 29.
Officers were patrolling Church and Witsell streets and checking the area around Lincoln Apartments when another call said the shots were coming near Savage Street.
When turning onto Sweat Street near Lemacks Street, officers heard multiple shots in the woods beside the cruiser. Colleton County deputies responded and set up a loose perimeter and officers walked through the apartments, the path from Verdier Street and the playground. However, no evidence was found.
An officer then saw two men run off through the breezeway at the apartments toward Springwood Drive. One appeared to be wearing a hoodie and light-colored shorts.
A deputy on Springwood Drive saw a man run behind a residence toward Colleton Loop.
However, no evidence was found.
Stolen vehicle recovered
Colleton County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Walterboro Police officers responded to a guns-fired call on Cromwell Lane in Walterboro on May 2.
What they found was a black Ford F-350 reported stolen in Dorchester and Berkeley counties.
The pickup had been freshly painted — the paint was still wet. And a man ran out the front door when law enforcement arrived.
The vehicle was towed to the sheriff’s office impound lot.
Later a deputy returned to the area and stopped a Ford F-150 for failure to use its turn signal. In the bed of the truck, he reportedly found the suspect in the F-350 theft.
Christopher Andrew Carson was arrested at gunpoint, the report said. He was also wanted by the Walterboro Police Department for third-degree burglary.
Carson said he was buying the truck, but could not provide a name or address for the buyer.
He asked to be taken to the hospital because while running from officers earlier, he tripped over a fence and hurt his neck. He was cleared at the hospital and taken to jail, charged by the sheriff’s office with possession of a stolen vehicle in addition to the police’s burglary warrant.
Items taken
from wrecked boat
A man reported while on his way home from the lake on May 2, his hitch pin on his boat trailer broke, sending his boat into the woods off I-95. The S.C. Highway Patrol helped him tape off the scene, but when he returned, he found $10,000 in items missing from his boat.
Walterboro Police initially responded to the scene. Gone were a 48” light bar, two deep cycle batteries, a 12” sub-woofer, an amplifier, a converter, two Yamaha gauges, 10 J.L. Audio marine speakers, one 12” Garmin radar and one fusion radar.
Then the victim allegedly found his items being sold on Facebook. A Walterboro Police officer met with the seller and retrieved some of the items.
The suspect said he saw the boat and figured insurance would pay for the missing items. He reportedly told deputies he sold some of the items to a Cottageville man.
The man was taken to jail.
Elderly woman
loses $56,855
Walterboro Police responded to a local bank when the manager said one of her customers was the victim of financial exploitation. The elderly woman’s bank account was empty — several withdrawals amounted to $56,855.22.
Arrested for larceny
On May 1, a man fled on foot from Colleton County Sheriff’s deputies after being observed by deputies riding a stolen four-wheeler.
City Police K-9 Officer Hydro arrived at the scene and tracked the suspect to a home on Phillips Road. The suspect reportedly opened the back door and was arrested for grand larceny.
