Orangeburg burglary suspects caught before they could escape, deputies say

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WOLO) – The Orangeburg County Sheriff says that two would-be burglars were apprehended before they could make good on their escape.

“We had deputies on top of these two suspects almost as soon as they entered this property, thanks to the concerned citizens who called,” said Sheriff Leroy Ravenell. “The community called, we answered, two suspects apprehended. That’s how it should work.”

Donovan Thompson, 20, and Angela Nivens, 22, were each charged with criminal conspiracy, third-degree burglary, and petit larceny.

Angela Nivens and Donovan Thompson / OCSO

Angela Nivens and Donovan Thompson / OCSO

During a hearing on Saturday, bond set on the Orangeburg couple at $67,000 each.

Orangeburg County Sheriff’s dispatchers received a call just before 2 p.m. Friday reporting a suspicious vehicle at an abandoned residence about two miles south of Cordova.

Arriving deputies secured the vehicle and located tracks leading toward the residence that is located in a small wooded area.

Thompson and Nivens were discovered and taken into custody. They had managed to take about $10 worth of items from the home.

Thompson told investigators he had heard of others breaking into the home. Since they weren’t caught, “he believed he did no wrong,” according to the report.

Nivens fled from the hospital while being checked for injuries prior to being taken to the detention center.

She was captured when she knocked of a residence while wearing a black trash bag and a shirt. That home owner called their neighbor – an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s deputy.

A bond hearing for a charge of escape is expected to be held for Nivens on Tuesday.