PRESS RELEASE
December 17, 2015
FCSO MAKES ARRESTS IN ARMED ROBBERY
SUSPECT: Charles Lee Cooke, age 18, of 424 E. Cricklewood Drive, Florence, SC 29505 was arrested by deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office on December 16, 2015 and charged with one count of Armed Robbery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon (S.C. Code Ann. 16-11-330). See FCSO Booking Website for additional information.
SUSPECT: James Lorenzo Carter, age 18, of 1811 Higgins, Street, Florence, SC 29506 was arrested by deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office on December 16, 2015 and charged with one count of Armed Robbery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon (S.C. Code Ann. 16-11-330). See FCSO Booking Website for additional information.
SUSPECT: Danielle Summer Pridgen, age 19, of 2225 Baytree Drive, Florence, SC 29501 was arrested by deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of Armed Robbery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon (S.C. Code Ann. 16-11-330). See FCSO Booking Website for additional information.
NARRATIVE: At approximately 8:53 PM yesterday, deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an Armed Robbery at 2601 Ascot Drive in Florence, SC. The victim reported that he, his wife and children were returning home from church and had just pulled into their driveway when a suspect suddenly emerged from behind shrubbery and demanded money from them at gunpoint. The suspect then fled on foot. An extensive manhunt, utilizing deputies from the Patrol Division, the FCSO Tracking Team as well as the
Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) followed in the Windsor Forest and Grove Park subdivisions. Later, FCSO received reports of two other similar robberies in other parts of the county, one of which involved the specific description of a suspect vehicle.
While investigating one of the subsequent and freshly committed armed robbery reports, Lt. Curt Summerford of the Criminal Enforcement Unit noticed a vehicle matching the description provided by one of the victims and initiated a traffic stop on that vehicle on Platt Street. This stop resulted in the discovery of evidence related to reported robberies and the arrest of three suspects.
Charles Lee Cooke, James Lorenzo Carter and Danielle Summer Pridgen were taken into custody and charged with one count of Armed Robbery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon. The three are being held at the Florence County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing.
Under South Carolina law, Armed Robbery is a Class A felony punishable by no less than 10 and up to 30 years in prison.
“The FCSO Criminal Enforcement Unit primarily patrols the main roads and interstate highways in Florence County, but in addition, during the Holiday Season, they also patrol neighborhoods and shopping areas,” Sheriff Kenney Boone stated. “While the arrests in this case were a joint effort of all our deputies, I am particularly proud of Curt and his Unit for their dedication to the protection of the neighborhoods of Florence County.”
The investigation into this incident is ongoing, and additional arrests and charges are possible.
END
Major Michael M. Nunn
General Counsel/P.I.O.
