Pine Grove, SC (Paul Kirby) – A man has been taken into custody by deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department after a Lexington Ledger follower recognized him and made a tip. While watching a video of him stealing from a home, the tipster recognized the man as Jacob L. Delk, 33, of the Gilbert area. She called The Ledger’s staff who took down the information and passed it to the sheriff’s department. By 10:30 a.m. Thursday, just a few hours after the man’s photo was published, deputies knew the man’s name and had a good idea of where he lived. Later in the day, he was arrested and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center.
The Ledger published his picture on Wednesday morning during its Good Morning Lexington County live stream. Just a short time later, Ledger staff received a phone call from a tipster who claimed to know the man’s identity. The caller not only gave Delk’s name, they also said that he had recently been released from prison. That information, along with the caller’s phone number, was given to the command team of the sheriff’s department. Later in the day, the tipster called again and gave the Ledger Delk’s exact address!
Well before dawn Tuesday, Delk stole a bicycle off the porch of a home in the Pine Grove area. According to the victim, he also went into his garage and took tools before breaking into his camper to steal a television. He then fled the scene not knowing that his act had been caught on video.
While committing the crime, Delk tried to hide his identity from cameras by wearing a false wig. At some point while he was in view of the home’s security camera, Delk adjusted the wig, giving a split-second glimpse of his face. That was all it took for the caller to say he knew Delk personally and he was sure it was him. Later in the day, Delk told another acquaintance that he was aware his picture was all over the internet but laughed that off by saying he wasn’t really concerned. This was just prior to his arrest.
Delk is no stranger to law enforcement. His criminal record shows he pled guilty in 2013 and 2018 to burglary charges. He had also been accused of being a Peeping Tom at one point, but that charge was eventually dropped. His record also indicates he had an entire page of traffic violations over the year. It’s not clear if Delk served his entire previous sentence or if he was paroled.
Delk was still in the Lexington County Detention Center early Thursday morning. He will face a judge later in the morning who could either set or deny Delk’s bond.
