Three arrested in St. Helena sheep-chasing incident

Three men were charged with trespassing Sunday when a St. Helena Island landowner caught them trying to steal a sheep from his property.

The men were taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center after the resident saw them going into one of his pastures on Willow Wisp Lane to chase a sheep, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

He turned on his vehicle lights to catch them in the act, the report said.

After being caught in the headlights, the three ran from the fenced pasture, the report said.

The landowner tried to follow, but could not find the suspects.

Deputies later located two of them hiding in a ditch in the nearby woods. The third was not found at that point, the report said.

During an interview with one of the suspects, the man said he and some friends had gone to a party on Bay Point Road where they had a few drinks.

“He stated that they had been drinking and they decided that they wanted to play with some animals,” the report said. “He advised that they were going to try to catch one to take back with them, but could not catch them because they were too fast.”

The third suspect was contacted by phone and returned to the scene where he was arrested, the report said.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Three arrested in St. Helena sheep-chasing incident."