Hilton Head robbery victim thought ‘everything would be fine.’ He was wrong

A Hilton Head Island man reported being robbed of $1,000 and knocked out after he accepted a ride home from two strangers outside a bar in a May 29 incident, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report filed Monday.

The victim said he was leaving a bar on Mathews Drive around 10:30 p.m. when a black male with gold teeth told him he could give him a ride to his residence, the report said. The victim told a deputy that he thought “everything would be fine” and went out to the parking lot and got into a gray Chevrolet Silverado with the man and a white woman who was driving.

When the truck arrived at the man’s Union Cemetery Road residence, he got out, the report said. The male suspect also got out and “struck (the victim) in the face near his chin,” the report said. The victim was knocked out and woke up around 15 to 20 minutes later with his wallet lying next to him and $1,000 missing, the report said. The man said he suffered several bruises from the encounter, but did not seek medical treatment.

When asked why he had $1,000 in cash, the victim told a deputy it was going to be used to pay rent. He said he waited to report the robbery because he did not feel he should report what happened until he could identify both suspects.

The deputy followed up with an employee at the car who said she did not recall seeing a man matching the suspect’s description that night and would check on any surveillance footage of the parking lot.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Hilton Head robbery victim thought ‘everything would be fine.’ He was wrong."