Man with felony burglary warrants runs away from Hilton Head crash site, police say
A man was arrested on two outstanding warrants for felony burglary after he fled from the passenger seat of a sedan involved in a crash on Hilton Head Island last week, police said.
St. Helena Island resident Byron Jacobi O’Neal Jenkins, 30, was booked into jail in the early morning hours of June 23 on two charges of first-degree burglary, according to judicial records and an inmate roster.
A Beaufort County deputy was patrolling the area of Shelter Cove Lane around 10 p.m. on June 22 when he spotted a “small sedan” that had collided with a tractor trailer, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office incident report says.
The driver of the sedan told police she had been arguing with her passenger and “wasn’t paying attention to the road” when the crash happened, according to the report. After noting a “collection of blood” in the passenger seat and asking where the other occupant was, the deputy was told the passenger ran away from the crash site, the report says.
Police claim they later found an unknown male with blood on his face — later identified as Jenkins — sitting on a bench outside a nearby clothing store in the Shelter Cove area, according to the incident report. Learning he had two active arrest warrants for felony burglary, deputies detained Jenkins, the report says.
Officers noted in the report that Jenkins was first taken to Novant Health Hilton Head Medical Center and was then taken to jail after being released from the emergency room.
Passenger’s alleged burglaries occurred months ago
One of Jenkins’ alleged burglaries was reported in early February at a St. Helena home, where deputies determined someone had forced entry by shattering a sliding glass door, according to an incident report obtained via a public records request on Monday. The report says the break-in was one of “multiple” reported burglaries in the Coffin Point area.
Further details on the case were redacted. Sheriff’s office staff would not fulfill a request for documentation of Jenkins’ other first-degree burglary charge, saying both incidents were still pending adjudication. The other incident’s case number indicated it was reported not long before the early February break-in.
Inmate records show Jenkins remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Monday morning.
Under South Carolina law, first-degree burglary is punishable by 15 years to life in prison.
