A Jasper Co. motel robbery and chase ended in 4 arrests in 2020. Why were charges dropped?
Prosecutors have dropped all charges against four S.C. men accused in a Motel 6 armed robbery and Hardeeville Police chase last year.
On Monday in Jasper County criminal court, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office dismissed dozens of charges against four men: Niger Benjamin Davila, 20, of Beaufort; Rayontravae Herred, 21, of Beaufort; Devante White, 27, of Green Pond, S.C.; and Malik White, 22, of Beaufort.
On April 1, 2020, the men were accused of bursting into a room in the Motel 6 off I-95, beating a man with a pistol, holding his girlfriend at gunpoint, and stealing their phones, according to a Hardeeville Police Department report.
They then led Hardeeville police officers on a chase on U.S. 17 before crashing underneath the Alligator Alley overpass, the report said.
The men ran out of the car, police said. Officers, using a K9 tracker, found and arrested Herred.
He was charged with one count of burglary in the second degree, two counts of armed robbery, one count of looting during a state of emergency, and one count of possession of a weapon in commission of a violent crime.
Hardeeville police signed warrants for the three other men, with an extra count of burglary for each and, for Davila, an additional charge of failure to stop for blue light.
Nearly a year later, all their charges were dropped.
The Solicitor’s Office could no longer find the victims who were robbed, said a clearly frustrated Hardeeville Police Chief Sam Woodward.
“We do all this work and all this investigation, and now the victims can’t be found,” Woodward said. “We spent several hours on this case, manpower ... and resources. And this happens.”
Public defenders for three of the men did not respond to calls and emails.
Jeff Kidd, a spokesperson for the Solicitor’s Office, declined to comment because of charges in unrelated cases that three of four of the men are still facing.
Notably, Devante and Malik White were charged in November 2020 in the Westbury Park gated community homicide in Bluffton.
Devante White is being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center, and Malik White was released on April 1, 2021, jail records show.
Court records show a judge set two surety bonds for Malik White at $50,000 each, requiring house arrest with exceptions for work and attorney visits.
