Three arrested in Myrtle Beach strip club shooting, robbery

Horry County Police charged three people with attempted murder and armed robbery charges in connection to a robbery in the parking lot of The Dollhouse, a strip club on Myrtle Beach’s Restaurant Row near the Highway 17 and Highway 22 intersection.

Police charged 20-year-old Willie James Hamlet, 19-year-old Brittany Nicole Leal, and her twin sister 19-year-old Jessica Michelle Leal with assault and battery with intent to kill, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, obliterating serial numbers on a gun, and receiving stolen goods charges.

Investigators said the trio stopped two men in the parking lot of the club and Hamlet jumped out of his car and pointed a revolver at the victims, then demanded their wallets.

One of the victims started fighting with the suspect, then Hamlet hit him in the mouth, then hit him in the back of the head with the gun, according to the police report.

As the victims turned to get into their car, Hamlet snatched one of the victim’s wallets, then fired shots at the men, according to the report.

Hamlet jumped back into his car where police said the twin Leal sisters were waiting.

The suspects took off from the scene down Highway 17 where county officers stopped the car minutes later, according to investigators.

Police found the revolver and a .45 caliber handgun hidden in the arm rest in the back seat of the car, according to the report. 

Police found the revolver, a .45 caliber handgun, $200 in cash, the victim’s wallet and identification along with several car stereos, a navigation unit, a bag full of stolen cell phones, and other evidence in the car police thought would be evidence in other crimes.

Police said the .45 caliber gun was stolen from Fayetteville, NC.

The serial numbers on the revolver were filed off, according to police.

The car was registered to Brittany Nicole Leal, according to investigators.

The victim who was assaulted in the robbery had a lump on his head and a busted lip, but refused to be treated by medics, according to the report.

Hamlet is a convicted felon and if convicted on the possession of the two guns, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

All three suspects face life in prison if convicted on the armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime charges.

All three remain jailed at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.