The Manning Police Department is investigating an armed robbery reported at the Tractor Supply Co. on Paxville Highway, where a suspect allegedly displayed a handgun and fled with merchandise in a black pickup truck.
Officers were dispatched about 7:02 p.m. Dec. 27 to the store at 1920 Paxville Highway, within the city limits, in reference to an armed robbery, according to an incident report.
Police said an employee reported that a white male wearing black pants and a black T-shirt filled a shopping cart with a pressure washer and hose, walked past the cashier without paying and exited the store. A second white male remained inside the store after the first suspect left, the report states.
When an employee followed the first suspect outside, the suspect turned around, lifted his shirt and displayed a green-and-black handgun, described as possibly a Glock-style firearm, police said. The employee continued toward the suspect, at which point the suspect removed the handgun from his waistband, entered a black pickup truck and fled the scene, according to the report.
Police initially received license plate information from dispatch that did not match the suspect vehicle description. Officers later determined the original information broadcast was incorrect after reviewing the initial call and surveillance footage. The corrected South Carolina tag was found to return to a black pickup truck consistent with the suspect vehicle, which investigators later identified as a Chevrolet Silverado registered to a Saint Stephen resident, the report states.
The second suspect left the store on foot prior to law enforcement’s arrival, walking in the direction of Sonic Drive-In, police said. City surveillance footage later captured the second suspect walking from Sonic to McDonald’s at approximately 7:02 p.m., according to the report. Investigators also received a tip that a black pickup truck had jumped the curb at the nearby McDonald’s, and city surveillance footage around 7:03 p.m. showed a vehicle consistent with the suspect vehicle hopping the curb in that area.
Investigators secured the scene and collected evidence, including dusting for possible fingerprints on a shopping cart and a box seen on video being handled and later placed back, the report states. A BOLO was issued for the suspect vehicle after the corrected information was confirmed.
Manning Police Chief Sean Briley confirmed the department is actively working with “other law enforcement agencies to ID the suspect.” Police said updates will be released when arrest warrants are issued.
