North Myrtle Beach police arrest suspect wanted for nation-wide retail fraud

(WBTW) — A speeding ticket led to the arrest of a wanted man involved in more than a million dollars' worth of retail fraud nationally, a North Myrtle Beach Police social media post said Wednesday .

Police said just after 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 an officer stopped a vehicle for speeding on Highway 17. The driver had a suspended license and was wanted by multiple agencies, in multiple states.

"Regular traffic stops can lead to much bigger things," 15th circuit solicitor Jimmy Richardson said.

The officer said he found out the driver was wanted for both forgeries and larcenies and is believed to be tied to crimes nation-wide equaling more than a million dollars.

Richardson said the suspect was originally accused and pleaded guilty to theft in federal court. They were given another chance to pay it back through drug court but quit going, leaving an outstanding warrant on their record.

"He was just as likely to have been picked up in Carson City, N.V., or Memphis, T.N., or anywhere else," Richardson said.

Richardson also explained that in a lot of cases, you can come out drug free through a drug court program, but because the suspect quit going, their name was entered into a national online database.

"That computer doesn't worry about state lines," Richardson said. "It doesn't worry about whether it's federal or state. If your name is in there, it pops up on all of the police officers' computers. And just a simple traffic infraction can cause you to have to go for years."

He adds that most times, suspects tread carefully if they know they have a warrant over their head.

"Which is crazy that you would speed, but hey, it happens," Richardson said.

Richardson also explained that the suspect will be returned to federal court in Florence to face their original charges and sentencing. He said he's just glad no one was hurt and it's an example of good police work.

News13 has reached out to NMBPD multiple times, as well as the City of North Myrtle Beach, since Wednesday asking for the police report from that night, but have not heard back.

Count on News13 for updates.

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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook , and X, formerly Twitter . You can also read more of her work, here .