Sheriff’s office looking for armed robbery suspects
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is trying to track down two men who committed an armed robbery at a Family Dollar store in Lobeco on Aug. 1.
According to a sheriff’s report, the first suspect was wearing dark clothing and had a mask over his face. He is described as black, approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 170 pounds. The second suspect, who was wearing red, black and gray pants, a long-sleeved dark quilted jacket and had a cloth over his face, is described as black, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds
Contact Sgt. Disbrow at 843-255-3407, BCSO Dispatch at 843-524-2777, or Crimestoppers at 1-888-274-6372; 1-888-CRIME-SC or sccrimestoppers.com.
Man arrested in 1980 murder, assault
Isaiah Gadson Jr., of Burton, was arrested Aug. 10 after being linked through DNA to 1980 cold case murder and sexual assault.
According to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 1980, deputies were dispatched to a dirt path off of Old Salem Point Road on a report of man who had been killed and a juvenile female who was sexually assaulted.
The girl told deputies that at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Jan. 5, she and her boyfriend, 18-year-old David Krulewicz, were parked in his van on the dirt path. She said a man approached and fired several shots into the van with a handgun. Several of the bullets struck Krulewicz, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The girl said that after shooting Krulewicz, the man robbed her and then sexually assaulted her. The suspect then walked away and the girl then ran to a house a short distance from the scene.
Sheriff’s office investigators looked into the case for many years and it eventually grew cold, due to limited forensic technology at the time.
In 1999, when Sheriff P. J. Tanner took office, investigations into unresolved murders/sexual assaults, also known as “cold cases,” became a priority. Since forensic science technology had vastly improved since 1980, especially in the area of forensic DNA analysis, evidence collected during the sexual assault examination of the girl were resubmitted to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Forensic Services Laboratory by sheriff’s office investigators.
Ultimately, a DNA profile of an unknown male’s semen was developed from evidence collected at the girl’s examination, which took place just hours after the incident.
The evidence was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2003 by SLED analysts. There was no immediate match through searches against known offenders in the database.
Then, on Aug. 2, SLED DNA analysts reported a match between the suspect, Isaiah Gadson Jr., 63, of Burton, and the DNA profile developed from the semen. Gadson Jr.’s DNA was collected at the Beaufort County Detention Center after his arrest in an unrelated incident in June.
Once his DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS, it was matched to the cold case, the report states.
Upon receiving the match report, interviews of original witnesses and further investigation were conducted. On Aug. 9, a warrant was issued for Gadson on charges of murder, criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, kidnapping and armed robbery.
On Aug. 10, Gadson Jr. was at the Beaufort Police Department on an unrelated matter. He was arrested there and is being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation or other criminal activity regarding Gadson Jr. can call Capt. Bob Bromage at 843-816-8013, or to remain anonymous and collect a possible reward, call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC.
Man charged with murdering woman
A welfare check by the Hardeeville Police Department resulted in a man being arrested on a charge of murder.
At about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, the Hardeeville Police Department was asked by the Bluffton Police Department to check on a possible death in a home in Jasper County.
Hardeeville officers met with a friend of the accused, who told police that he was concerned because Samuel Olalde Gonzalez told him he was not coming into work because of family issues.
The man requested a welfare check, and when Hardeeville police and members of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office went to the home at 560 Honey Hill Road, Gonzalez came outside and was immediately detained.
Inside, they found a dead Hispanic woman covered in several blankets on the living room couch, and three children ranging from 4 months to 5 years old.
Gonzalez was transported to the Detective Division of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, where he was interviewed and charged with murder. He’s currently being held at the Jasper County Detention Center.
The children are staying with relatives.
Two people wanted in shooting, robbery
Two people are wanted in connection with a shooting and robbery at a park in Port Royal.
According to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, Darielle Harris and Dalonte Fripp are wanted in connection with the incident, which took place in Port Royal.
On Aug. 4, the Port Royal Police Department and members of the Beaufort Police and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to John Parker Park in reference to two people attempting to rob two other people. One victim had been shot and was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
A woman identified as Darielle Harris, 20, of the Beaufort area, and a man, identified as Harris’ boyfriend, Dalonte M. Fripp, 17, of Port Royal, are suspects in the incident. Police say they are considered armed and dangerous.
Call the Port Royal Police Department at 843-986-2220, Beaufort County Dispatch at 843-524-2777, or to remain anonymous and collect a possible reward, call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC.
Bluffton police chief new head of FBINAA
Bluffton Police Chief Joey Reynolds was recently sworn in as president of the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA) at the organization’s annual conference in St. Louis.
The FBINAA is a nonprofit, international organization made up of nearly 16,000 senior law enforcement men and women who have graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.
The FBINAA allows law enforcement leaders to network around the world, improving their skills and their departments’ skills.
Reynolds, Sulka and Bluffton Town Manager Marc Orlando traveled to St. Louis for the ceremony.
