Police investigate robberies in Hartsville

By Jim Faile

Published: May 14, 2008

Hartsville police have charged a Hartsville man in the robbery of a Hartsville convenience store early Saturday morning.

Alonzo Swinton, 43, of 310 Marion Ave., is charged with armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and resisting arrest, according to Hartsville Police Chief Tim Kemp.

The robbery occurred at the Markette convenience store at 621 S. Fifth St. at around 2 a.m. Saturday.

A man armed with a knife entered the store and demanded money. The man fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, Kemp said.

“Officers were able to set up a perimeter and within probably about 10 minutes arrested Mr. Swinton,” Kemp said. Officers subdued Swinton with an electric shock from a Taser device when he resisted arrest, Kemp said.

Swinton was still in jail at the Darlington County Detention Center under a $25,000 bond Tuesday, Kemp said.

In a separate case, police are looking for a suspect who robbed a man at the Landmark Inn in Hartsville on May 5.

The man told police that a woman knocked on the door of his room and said she needed help. He said that when he opened the door, some men entered the room behind the woman, robbed him and pistol whipped him.

Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to call the police department at (843) 383-3013 or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at ((843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477). Callers do not have to reveal their identity.