HAMLET — Police in South Carolina have arrested a man accused of stealing a Richmond County band’s equipment trailer and a car from a local dealership last month.
Darrin Coke Bryant, 44, of Greenville, South Carolina, was arrested Sunday on unrelated charges and is being held in the Greenville County Detention Center.
Investigators with the Hamlet Police Department say Bryant stole a trailer filled with lighting and sound equipment as well as instruments belonging to the Ponder Project in the early morning hours of Oct. 26 from a home on Dogwood Lane.
The truck Bryant was allegedly driving, a stolen Toyota Tundra, was reportedly seen by witnesses and caught on video hauling the trailer down Main Street around 1:30 a.m.
Investigators say Bryant returned to Hamlet Oct. 28 and stole a 2015 Cadillac CTS from Griffin Automotive. The car was later recovered in Bennettsville, South Carolina.
Police say they received a Crime Stoppers tip that Bryant had used a fake name Nov. 3 when admitted to a hospital in Greenville County after hitting a deer while riding a motorcycle.
The truck, stolen from Greer, South Carolina, was involved in a chase with the Greenville Police Department, police say.
The Hamlet Police Department has charged Bryant with two counts of felony larceny and one count of larceny of a motor vehicle.
Jail records show Bryant is facing fraud and theft charges from the Greer Police Department and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say he is also facing charges in Easley, Greenville and Pickens County for similar crimes. He was charged Tuesday with three probation violations.
Police are still looking for another suspect involved in the theft but have not yet released a name. More charges could be coming in this case.
Investigators say they have had an “open line of communication” with the victim and all of the departments in South Carolina and are still working to recover the trailer and the equipment.
With all the charges pending in South Carolina, it could be a while before Bryant is extradited to stand trial in a Richmond County courtroom, according to police.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
