St. Helena man sentenced to 15 years for breaking into an ATM on Lady’s Island in 2018
A St. Helena Island man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years for attempting to break into a Navy Federal Credit Union ATM on Lady’s Island, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
George Holmes, 38, was charged in December 2018 with safe-cracking and second-degree burglary.
Holmes was caught on camera on Dec. 28, 2018, trying to pry open the door to a kiosk on Sea Island Parkway with a tire iron, the press release said. When he got inside, he looked up and saw a camera and returned a few moments later with a T-shirt covering his face. The company’s security monitoring company that records and watches the kiosk in real-time called 911.
After unsuccessfully attempting to break open the outer casing of the ATM, Holmes left and was caught nearby by Beaufort County sheriff’s deputies and their tracking dogs. Blood on the outer lock of the ATM machine and DNA from the tire iron that was left behind were a match for Holmes.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen handed down the sentence and gave Holmes 20 years for safe-cracking and 15 years for second-degree burglary. His sentences will run concurrently. The 20-year sentence was suspended to 15 years and five years probation. Holmes was released on bond in April 2020, according to Jeff Kidd, a spokesperson for the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Holmes’ defense attorney, Colin Hamilton, did not respond to a request for comment from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
