Search continues for Manning robbery suspect in Florence County

By: Patricia Burkett | SCNow
Published: July 02, 2008

Law enforcement agents continue to search for 24-year-old Norman Emanuel Pauling of Florence, a robbery suspect who is considered armed and dangerous.

Manning Police Chief Randy Garrett said Pauling robbed two businesses at gunpoint Tuesday, severely injuring one person in the process.

The search for Pauley has shifted to Florence County, where authorities believe he may be hiding with friends or family.

Florence County Sheriff’s Office investigators say they are trying to pinpoint areas where Pauling is known to frequent in an effort to track him down.

Garrett said Pauling first robbed a Wendy’s restaurant in Santee on Tuesday, then robbed a Money Express store on U.S. 301 in Manning.

During the Manning robbery, Garrett said, Pauling put a gun to the clerk’s head and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired.

Garrett said Pauling then beat that clerk so severely she’s in critical condition at an area hospital, blind in one eye and undergoing surgery for skull and facial fractures.

Garrett said Pauling also beat a woman who tried to come to the clerk’s aid.

After the incidents, Garrett said Pauling headed for the highway in a maroon Ford Expedition reported stolen from Florence County where a chase ensued.

Garrett said Pauling crashed the sport utility vehicle into the car of an officer and fled into the woods near the Turbeville exit off of Interstate 95.

Authorities spent the entire day Tuesday searching for Pauley and believe he had a cell phone which he may have used to call someone to pick him up from the woods.

Manning police said they found the gloves they believe Pauley used during the crimes in the woods Tuesday.

Garrett said Pauling will face a number of charges, including assault and battery with intent to kill, assaulting a police officer, armed robbery, grand larceny and felon in possession of a weapon.

State Law Enforcement Division records show Pauling has an extensive criminal record, including a June 15, 2002, arrest in Florence County where he was charged with 21 crimes, including assault and battery with intent to kill, felony possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting arrest, simple assault and battery, failure to stop for a blue light, hit and run with duties of the driver involved in an accident with property damage, driving under suspension (license not suspended for driving under the influence) and abandoning an unattended vehicle.

SLED records show Pauling also was convicted in June 2002 of a felony criminal conspiracy charge issued in Florence County in June 2001, for which he was sentenced to five years in jail suspended to three years and five years of probation.

Pauley is described as a black man about 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at (843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477). Callers need not reveal their identities.

—WBTW News13’s Kelly Gillespie contributed to this report.