Coronavirus arrests: 2 NC men charged with looting in SC, York sheriff says
York County deputies have charged two North Carolina men with looting during the South Carolina coronavirus state of emergency, officials said.
The arrests for breaking the looting law under South Carolina’s state of emergency are believed to be the first in York County by local law enforcement officers during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Both suspects are from Mecklenburg County, records show.
Ronald Nicholas Miller, 26, of Matthews, N.C., and Justin Andrew Osczepinski, 30, of Charlotte, are charged with looting during a state of emergency, according to police and jail records.
The charges were added Monday by sheriff’s officials following the arrest on Friday when both men were taken into custody outside a Lake Wylie storage warehouse, Faris said.
When S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster declared a Covid-19 state of emergency two weeks ago, a law went into effect that makes looting a felony, Faris said.
“There is a state of emergency law in effect and this looting incident was charged under that emergency law,” Faris said. “The law is in place to protect the public and their property during this emergency.”
Under the South Carolina emergency law, it is illegal to “enter into the property of another, without lawful authority and with criminal intent; damage the property of another; or take possession or otherwise disturb the property of another in any manner.”
A person violating a provision of this item is guilty of a felony and must be fine or sent to prison or both, state law shows. The length of the sentence is to be determined by a judge if there is a conviction, the law states.
The emergency looting law falls under the same law where local law enforcement has the authority to break up any gathering of more than three people, Faris said.
The two men were found around 4 a.m. Friday outside storage warehouse units in the 4500 block of Charlotte Highway in Lake Wylie, according to a sheriff’s office incident report. Deputies recovered items and a stolen truck, according to the report.
In addition to the looting charges, Miller faces 23 other charges including burglary, larceny, conspiracy, and possession of burglary tools. He is jailed under a $153,500 bond.
Osczepinski is charged with 25 crimes other than looting, including burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, larceny, possession of burglary tools, and conspiracy. He is being held in the York County jail under a $141,500 bond.
Osczepinski has previous convictions in North Carolina for armed robbery, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Coronavirus arrests: 2 NC men charged with looting in SC, York sheriff says."
