Suspect stole idling car from Port Royal restaurant with a passenger in the backseat
Police are on the lookout for an unnamed suspect after he stole an idling car outside of a Port Royal restaurant, crashed less than a mile away and ran from the scene — all while a passenger was in the backseat.
Port Royal officers were on the scene of a single-vehicle accident on the southernmost end of Battery Creek Road around 9:40 p.m. Thursday when they received a stolen vehicle report from Yummy Hibachi and Sushi on Ribaut Road. Not long after, police discovered that the stolen vehicle was the same car involved in the crash, and that an adult male was in the backseat when the theft took place.
The passenger, who is an employee at Yummy Hibachi and Sushi, told police he was waiting in the idling car while the driver went into the restaurant. The car thief suddenly entered the vehicle, driving less than a mile before crashing in the 1600 block of Battery Creek Road and fleeing on foot, said Capt. John Griffith of the Port Royal Police Department.
Police say the thief likely did not initially realize there was a passenger in the car, but that he continued to drive after noticing the man in the backseat. The passenger was unharmed during the incident, according to the Friday morning press release.
The unknown suspect was described as a 6-foot, slim Black male with short, unkempt hair and a close-cut beard. He was wearing a dark T-shirt with gray on it, the passenger told police.
Port Royal police will likely charge the suspect with grand larceny and kidnapping, Griffith told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. The man did not appear to be armed during the theft.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call Detective Sgt. John Hogue at 843-986-2220 or file an anonymous online report on the Port Royal Police Department’s website, referencing case number 23PR16136.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 12:13 PM.
