Police: Beaufort Co. man stole steaks. Then his getaway car broke down. Then it got worse

A 31-year-old St. Helena Island man accused of running out of a Burton grocery store with a backpack full of steaks only to have his getaway car breakdown subsequently swallowed a rock of crack cocaine and was hospitalized before being jailed, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

Employees at the Shanklin Road Food Lion in Burton called 911 around 2 p.m. on Tuesday after they saw a man stuff almost $70 worth of various cuts of steak into a black backpack before sprinting ran out of the store, according to the report.

Two store managers gave police a description of the man and the license plate number of the vehicle in which he got away.

Deputies came across the Chevrolet Blazer the store employees described, along with the suspect and a woman who was with him, on Broad River Boulevard, according to the report. The car had broken down in the middle of the road, the man explained to deputies.

When a deputy asked him if he knew anything about what happened at Food Lion, the man only said that it was a nice day. He soon said he was feeling sick because he had swallowed a crack rock, so he was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital by Beaufort County EMS before he was arrested and jailed.

The bag full of steaks was found inside the car and were returned to the store, according to the report.

He faces misdemeanor charges of shoplifting and driving under suspension, according to online Beaufort County Detention Center records. He remained in jail Wednesday afternoon with bond set at $2,772.50.

Both the man and the woman were issued trespassing notices for the grocery store, according to the report.

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Police: Beaufort Co. man stole steaks. Then his getaway car broke down. Then it got worse."