3 suspects arrested in Florence vehicle break-ins

FLORENCE — Florence police have arrested three Florence men they said are responsible for a city-wide vehicle break-in ring that’s been going on for the past month.

Kendall Lamont Nixon, 21, of 2335 Watermark Road, Lot 55; Johnny Nickolas Gregg, 18, of 3307 Chisholm Trail; and Drake Lemond Wright, 19, of 274 Quinby Circle are each charged in connection with the crimes, Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said.

The arrests should serve as a reminder for people to remember to secure their vehicles and belongings, especially in the current economic climate and with the holidays approaching.

Just as the times get tougher, that’s when police said they see the most people taking what doesn’t belong to them, Shells said.

“Especially property crime. It’s very difficult to explain violent crime, why that tends to go up from time to time, but property crime you can easily link that to the economy,” he said.

The number of reported vehicle break-ins in Florence has surged, Shells said.

“They (the culprits) have been going from business to business, residence to residence, breaking into these cars,” he said.

Shells said the good news is that police have three men they think are responsible for at least 10 break-ins in the past month in custody.

“That’s always important to us because we always try to find the source of our crimes, and who broke into a vehicle is a very difficult thing to find out sometimes,” he said.

Shells said the suspects used a different technique and had a strategy.

“What’s really striking is that they would also surveil the police department to see when we were coming in and going to see if they could determine what our patrol patterns weren and they took advantage of that,” he said.

Nixon faces 12 counts of breaking into a motor vehicle, 11 counts of financial transaction card theft, four counts of general financial transaction card fraud, two counts of larceny, financial identity fraud and/unlawfully obtaining identity information records and a count of petit larceny, Florence County Detention Center booking reports show. He remains in custody at the jail in Effingham.

Gregg is charged with two counts each of breaking into a motor vehicle and financial transaction card theft, as well as a count of grand larceny (value more than $1,000 but less than $5,000), booking reports show. He was released from the jail Wednesday, but bond information wasn’t available.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Wright faces six counts of breaking into a motor vehicle, four counts of financial transaction card theft and a count of grand larceny (value $5,000 or more), according to booking reports. He was released from the jail Thursday, but bond information wasn’t available. 

The bad news, Shells said, is that while several cases have solved with these three arrests, he expects more of these crimes during the holidays.

“That’s one thing I want to say ... to tell everyone to be careful this holiday season, as they should be every holiday season,” he said.

While people are giving more during the holiday season, Shells said that’s when people tend to take most.

Hartsville Police Chief Tim Kemp agreed, saying his department also is investigating a rash of car break-ins, though no suspects in those crimes have been identified or arrested.

He said he recommends that people area use caution in parking lots, as well, and use common sense when out and about in their vehicles.

The Safe at Home Web site (http://www.safeusa.edc.org/home/safehome.htm) offers these tips:

• Stay alert at all times and pay attention to your surroundings. 
• Park in a well-lit space away from decorative bushes. Lock your car, roll up the windows, and hide packages in the trunk or under a blanket. Be especially alert in parking decks and underground garages. 
• Don’t overload yourself with packages. 
• Have your car keys in hand before heading to the parking lot.