Five arrests made in connection with Orangeburg carjackings

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) —

According to the Orangeburg Chief of Police Charles Austin, five men have been arrested in connection with the series of carjackings in the Orangeburg area.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety reported five attempted carjackings during the months of October and November — with three of those five vehicles stolen.

The department also reported that one person was shot as he attempted to drive away from the carjackers but has fully recovered.

Chief Austin is calling the carjackings “gang related” and credits the creation of the PAC taskforce (pursuit, arrest, and convict) with the suspects’ arrests.

“The arrests were a result of the work by the multijurisdictional task force which includes SLED, the Santee Police Department, the Bowman Police Department, the Orangeburg Sheriff’s Department and the Norway Police Department,” says Chief Austin.

While no identities have been released, Chief Austin says the five male suspects were issued a collective total of 21 warrants relating to the carjackings and other unnamed crimes in the area.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety reports that all five suspects are from the Bowman area and that one of the suspects has been charged in connection with a murder in another jurisdiction.

Chief Austin says he hopes the arrests gives the community some level of comfort.

“I hope it sends a positive message to them, and I also hope it sends a message to those persons who consider committing these types of crimes. That we will pursue them, until we find them, and then we will arrest them and prosecute them,” says Chief Austin.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety reports one suspect is a juvenile and the other four suspects are in their early to mid-twenties.

Chief Austin also says the taskforce will remain in effect as long as needed.