Red Bank, SC 12/09/2021 (Paul Kirby) – Daniel Hill III, the prisoner who escaped from the rear of a Lexington County EMS unit Wednesday while being transported to the hospital to be checked out, is back in custody. SWAT members removed him from a home on Lawrence Road near its intersection with Brown Boulevard in the Red Bank community off Platt Springs Road last night. A spokesman for Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said that he was once again arrested and in custody without incident shortly before 10:00 p.m. When they took Hill, he was still wearing the handcuffs from his earlier arrest.
The entire saga started Wednesday when Hill was originally detained by deputies on active warrants that included failing to stop for blue lights and narcotic violations. While they were dealing with Hill at that time, he also assaulted a law enforcement officer and complained of injuries himself. Hill was placed in an ambulance in handcuffs to be transported to the hospital when he escaped from that truck near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Leaphart Road. This sparked a massive manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies that converged on the area. A number of schools in the area were locked down as a precaution.
After escaping custody, Hill was able to steal a pickup truck nearby that had a firearm inside. He managed to elude the police and escape their perimeter before they knew for certain he had gone mobile. Hill was next sighted at the Bojangles’s at Augusta Road and I-20 where he pulled into the drive-thru, complained his tea wasn't with his order, and asked if they would give him something to drink. When he took the drink, the store’s employees noticed the handcuffs and reported he was there. Before any law enforcement officers could get to that location, Hill was able to drive away preventing what could have been a very public and dangerous showdown.
Later in the day, Hill was able to make it to the Red Bank area where he abandoned the stolen truck on Southwood Drive. It was first believed he may have stolen another vehicle, but investigators later said that someone had picked him up in a grey KIA suv. He once again disappered for a short peiod of time.
Deputies never let Hill’s trail go cold and eventually, he was located around 5:30 p.m. at the house on Lawrence Road in the vicinity of the old Village Store off Platt Springs Road. Neighbors say that Lexington County personnel began to talk with Hill about surrendering. Negotiators kept up a dialog with Hill in hopes that he would give up peacefully, but according to Sheriff Koon, his SWAT team eventually had to breach the house where they took Hill into custody again ending the operation. According to the Sheriff’s Department, no one was injured in this arrest.
A spokesman for Sheriff Koon said that a full list of charges against Hill will be released Thursday. It is known that he still faces the original narcotic charges plus failure to stop for blue lights, assaulting a law enforcement officer, escape, theft of the vehicle, and many others. The person who picked up Hill in the KIA and drove him to the Lawrence Road home could also be charged. That person has not been identified.
The sheriff’s department did say that no Lexington County EMS personnel were injured when Hill escaped.
