Beaufort Co. man gets mad about Wi-Fi, then batters car with sledgehammer, police say

A man was charged with malicious injury to personal property Saturday after striking a family friend's vehicle multiple times with a sledgehammer on St. Helena Island, a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report said.

Family members said the man became irate that his aunt's Wi-Fi was not working. He started yelling belligerently at family members.

A boyfriend of the man's cousin was at the home and tried to calm the situation down, he told police. He asked the man if he could give him a ride home.

The man then came at the boyfriend, attacking him, the report states. The boyfriend struck the man once in self defense and then wrapped him in a bear hug.

Once released, the man grabbed a sledgehammer and ran outside to the boyfriend's car.

The car's windshield and both passenger side windows were damaged by the time Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, and the car was covered with numerous dents, the report states.

Deputies saw the man swinging the sledgehammer into the car as they pulled up, the report states. He then fled into the woods with the sledgehammer still in his hands.

A chase ensued, with the man crisscrossing fields and the property that he originally ran from. Family shouted each time they saw him run back through.

One family member spotted him near Chaplin Grocery and police were able to make contact there. He was ordered at "tazer point" to come to the deputies, as they knew he previously had a weapon.

He was arrested at that time and read his Miranda rights, the report states.

The boyfriend did not wish to pursue charges for assault and battery but did for malicious injury to property.