St. Helena moonshine shoplifter gave the bottle back, then ran for it

A 23-year-old St. Helena Island man who allegedly tried to steal moonshine from a Lady’s Island liquor store on Sea Island Parkway Saturday wasn’t exactly lightning fast when it came to escaping.

The man tried to sneak the bottle of moonshine out of Bill’s Liquors and Fine Wine under his hooded sweatshirt, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report. An employee confronted him and said he had to call the police but wouldn’t press charges if the man returned the bottle. He gave the bottle back and then ran out of the store.

Four employees eventually pinned him to the ground, according to the report.

When the deputy arrived, he detained the man in handcuffs and the store employees decided to press charges after all, which made the man “more and more angry,” according to the report.

“I am not going to lie,” the man allegedly said to the deputy. “I am outta here.” He took off running, still handcuffed, across Sea Island Parkway and behind a home, according to the report. A bystander told the deputy the man was hiding behind a shed, but the man ran again, this time tripping in some bushes where the bystander held the man down until the deputy could get to him.

The suspect is being held in Beaufort County Detention Center on misdemeanor charges of shoplifting, feeling to evade arrest and third degree assault and battery with bond set at $4,300, according to online jail records.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 4:50 PM with the headline "St. Helena moonshine shoplifter gave the bottle back, then ran for it."