Marlboro County deputies seek fugitive

The Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to find a fugitive.

In May, 25-year-old James Christopher Bunton failed to surrender at the Marlboro County Detention Center when he was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking crack cocaine. According to a sheriff’s office press release, the court allowed Bunton to return to the jail later to begin his sentence, but he never did.

Bunton is described as a black man 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 195 pounds. His last known address is 217 Cook St., Bennettsville.

The sheriff’s office is collaborating with the U.S. Marshals Service to find Bunton this week. Anyone found to be hiding Bunton or aiding his efforts to elude capture will be prosecuted, according to the release.

Anyone with information on Bunton’s whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (843) 479-5605 or the state Crime Stoppers hotline at (888) CRIME SC (274-6372). Callers need not reveal their identities.