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Law enforcement was dispatched to Rocky Creek Apartments on East Thomas Street May 24 in reference to an entering automobile complaint.
The complainant stated, approximately five minutes before police arrived, she observed a male wearing a camouflage jacket rummaging through her neighbor’s vehicle and taking off toward North Jefferson Street. The victim was contacted and searched their vehicle to find their Palmetto State Armory Dagger 9mm pistol was missing.
While speaking with the victim, an officer observed a male matching the offender’s description walking north on North Jefferson Street and proceeding into the wood line beside Hood Automotive. Two officers searched the area on foot to ensure the male did not enter any vehicles and chased the male but eventually lost sight of him.
As the male got away, one officer located a black knife in the backyard, potentially dropped by the offender. A K9 was used to track the male from his last known position, and during the search, officers located two backpacks behind a shed at a residence on North Jefferson Street.
The male was later tracked to and located at a residence on East Charlton Street. Using his driver’s license, law enforcement identified him as Omar Merriweather.
Inside the backpacks officers found items taken from multiple vehicles including: a Palmetto State Armory Dagger 9mm, two 9mm magazines, a box of 22 long rifle Federal Ammunition, a face mask, a 2.23/5.56 magazine, a tourniquet, six financial cards belonging to another person, an Android cell phone, an Apple MacBook Pro, a pocket knife, a hunting knife, a flashlight, and several dollars in change.
Merriweather was charged with three counts of entering automobile, one count of giving false name and date of birth, one count of financial transaction card theft and two counts of obstruction of officers.