Posted on 02/06/2019 6:45:32 PM PST by Gamecock
RICHLAND COUNTY, SC
A convicted felon sought in Tuesdays armed robbery at a Forest Acres bank is no longer believed to be in the Forest Acres area, the police chief said Wednesday. But he was still in South Carolina, according to the State Law Enforcement Division, or SLED.
Samuel Levone Neathery is or was in the Charleston area, Wednesday morning, SLED spokesman Thom Berry told The State.
The search for Neathery included a plane, helicopter and officers and K-9s on the ground Tuesday. On Wednesday morning Forest Acres Police Chief Marion Sealy said police believe he is no longer in the Forest Acres area.
But law enforcement did come into contact with Neathery after the robbery.
A Columbia Police Department officer briefly stopped Neathery but did not detain him because he changed his clothes, Sealy told The State.
The officer encountered him after the robbery and interviewed him, but let him go because he had changed his appearance, Sealy said. He removed the blue hoodie and sunglasses he was wearing in the bank, and that surveillance photo was all we had.
The Columbia Police Department echoed Sealys comment.
The man we talked with did not match the description initially provided by 911 communicators and was walking toward the crime scene, not away, Columbia Police Department public information officer Jennifer Timmons told The State. He was calm, and wasnt suspicious in any way. He was cooperative.
Timmons said that cooperation included Neathery providing police with his real name and date of birth. Officers ran that information into the NCIC crime database and there were no outstanding warrants, according to Timmons.
It came back clear, there was no lawful reason to arrest him, Timmons said. Once we had a more accurate description, we were able to connect the dots.
Neathery, a convicted robber from Florida, now has a warrant for armed robbery from Tuesdays incident at the S.C. Federal Credit Union on Forest Drive, Sealy said.
Officers from several agencies searched the area throughout the day Tuesday and into the night. It was unclear Wednesday morning where Neathery is believed to be, if hes no longer in the Forest Acres area.
We have had tracking teams out since the robbery itself and we are continuing the search for this individual, Berry said Wednesday morning. As long as we believe that he is in the state, we will continue the search.
Neathery was convicted of armed robbery in Florida in 2009, law enforcement records show.
Barney Fife is on the Columbia PD?
Update ping?
Great title
What, the cops didnt The he stole enough, so they let him go?
Barney probably would have detained him but for some incorrect reason.
Damned bank prolly has too much money anyway!
But leave my account be, okey dokey?
I’m not the bank robber you are looking for.
Officer Los Lane or Jimmy Olsen?
And if Barney would've missed him, the other deputies would've nabbed him, for sure.
“Neathery was convicted of armed robbery in Florida in 2009, law enforcement records show.”
But his ncic record was clear? Keystone cops
Good catch.
I would love each of you to put a uniform on for a week and see how you do.
As for the NCIC check...it checks to see if you’re wanted. It doesn’t give you a criminal history unless you have a reason for wanting it and specifically request it and that’s not something you do in a routine interaction with people.
Dumbasses...........
If he had been arrested without probable cause, he would never get convicted. Same age about, height about,- wrong clothes is not probable cause to arrest.
I’d like to say that he’d never be arrested without PC, in this day and age, but that wouldn’t be right. But there are quite a few folks running around America that are richer than they were they day before for that exact reason.
Same neck tats
Thanks.
I do like the feature of FreeRepublic that allows people in the know to correct the misconceptions of people who are only supposing.
Not to denigrate that latter. We all ask valid questions. It’s only when we make declarations of fact that we need to be corrected.
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