Third suspect arrested in Timmonsville robbery, shooting

A third person has been arrested in connection with a shooting and armed robbery last week in Timmonsville.

Crystal Waiters, 24, of 920 Kershaw St., Timmonsville, was arrested Thursday and charged with accessory before the fact of a felony, Florence County Detention Center booking reports show. She remains in custody at the jail in Effingham on a $5,000 surety bond set Friday, according to a press release from the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.

Meanwhile, a Florence County magistrate denied bond for her two alleged accomplices who were arrested Thursday.

Timmonsville men William Dickey, 22, of 421 Hill Road, and Morris Hickson, 18, of 102 Green St., each are charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon, grand larceny, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and assault and battery with intent to kill, booking reports show.

They are accused of robbing and shooting a clerk in the head with a sawed-off shotgun about noon Aug. 6 at Strickland’s Mini-Mart at Cale Yarborough Highway and U.S. 76, Florence County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Nunn said.

The female suspect is accused of driving the robbers to Ham Road so they could commit the crimes. Investigators allege she failed to contact law enforcement and inform she had knowledge of the crime both before and after the fact.

Nunn said about 40 law enforcement officers from surrounding agencies and the State Law Enforcement Division participated in the hunt for the suspects the day of the crime.

The clerk was taken to an area hospital for treatment immediately after the shooting and released the next morning.

The suspects ran from the store after the crime toward Sardis, Nunn said.

The search included sheriff’s office canine units, Timmonsville police, Darlington County sheriff’s deputies, S.C. Highway Patrol troopers and SLED air units.

“Our investigators have worked night and day since last Thursday to be able to make these arrests,” Sheriff Kenney Boone said in a press release issued Thursday. “I am so proud of their efforts.”

Two Timmonsville men initially questioned in connection with the case face unrelated criminal charges.

Rontavis McKithen, 18 of 2616 Old Sansbury Road, was arrested Aug. 6 by Florence County sheriff’s deputies on warrants for two counts of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of first-degree burglary.

The burglary warrant alleges that on or about July 29, McKithen entered a residence on Davenport Drive in Timmonsville during the night armed with a firearm and demanded money from the residents. McKithen also is charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with this crime, Nunn said.

McKithen’s other armed robbery charge stems from an incident that occurred on or about Aug. 2, when victims were robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of Davenport Drive in Timmonsville, Nunn said.

Xavier N. Hickson, 20, of 106 Green Drive, also was arrested Aug. 6 by by Florence County sheriff’s deputies on a warrant for accessory before the fact of a felony, Nunn said. Hickson is accused of calling a victim to the 100 block of Davenport Drive in Timmonsville on Aug. 2 under the pretense of purchasing an item. When the victims arrived, they were robbed at gunpoint.

It’s not clear if the Hicksons are related.

Xavier Hickson was released Wednesday, while McKithen remains in custody at the jail in Effingham.