Report: Bluffton teens face auto break-in charges after Sandy Pointe chase

Three teens face charges after a pursuit by law enforcement on foot through the Sandy Pointe neighborhood early Saturday morning, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to calls in the Bluffton subdivision at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after neighbors reported seeing a group of teenagers pulling on door handles and rifling through vehicles, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage said.

Deputies were able to spot and detain two teenagers identified by witnesses in the incident after a short foot chase through the neighborhood near Heartstone Circle and Broadland Drive, Bromage said.

A woman’s wallet was found in possession of one of the teens, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

A third teenager was seen running through the neighborhood but evaded law enforcement until Bluffton Police were later dispatched to the Hampton Lake subdivision, where the teen was detained by police, Bromage said.

Both teenagers apprehended in Sandy Pointe were transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia and were petitioned to family court on counts of breaking into a motor vehicle.

The teenager detained in Hampton Lake is facing one count of fleeing to evade arrest and was released to the custody of his parents, Bromage said.

This story was originally published May 22, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Report: Bluffton teens face auto break-in charges after Sandy Pointe chase."