HAMLET — A man wanted for failing to appear in a South Carolina court was recently caught in a Richmond County traffic stop.
Robert Raymond Horta, 32, of Hamlet, was stopped Sunday, March 5 by a patrol deputy on N.C. 381 for an unspecified traffic violation, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Horta reportedly told the deputy he didn’t have a license and had recently moved to Hamlet from South Carolina.
When the deputy ran Horta’s information, he reportedly learned Horta was wanted for failing to appear in a Georgetown County court on felony drug charges.
South Carolina court records show Horta has a pending charge of possession of an ounce or less of marijuana or 10 grams or less in Georgetown County from 2021.
The defendant was reportedly arrested without incident and charged with being a fugitive from justice. He was booked into the Richmond County Jail and held on a $100,000 secured bond while awaiting extradition back to South Carolina.
Horta did not appear in online jail records early Wednesday afternoon.
Records show Horta was previously convicted of simple assault and battery in 2010; misdemeanor possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in 2011; giving false information to a police officer in 2017; and shoplifting in 2018.
All convictions were in Georgetown County.
Horta also has multiple prior appearances in traffic court and civil court in Georgetown and Horry counties, records show.
The defendant appears to have no pending charges or prior convictions in North Carolina.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
