Sheriff: Persistence led to capture of escaped Sumter County inmate

Deputies spent seven hours searching for Stephen Stinnette in the woods

SUMTER, S.C. (WOLO) — After a suspected murderer escaped from the Sumter County Detention Center Thursday night, Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said changes are on the way for how his team keeps inmates in custody.

Around 7:00 Thursday night, a fire broke out in one of the cells at the Sumter County Detention Center.

Sheriff Dennis says a brief altercation between inmates and prison guards broke out shortly after, giving suspected murderer Stephen Stinnette a chance to follow through with a planned escape.

“There’s no doubt in our minds he was the mastermind. It was just enough time for distraction where Stinnette was able to escape,” Sheriff Dennis said.

Sheriff Dennis says his team caught two other inmates attempting to flee, but says Stinnette managed to jump over the fence and run straight into the woods next to the detention center. He says Stinnette might have hid in a vacant home, but then left once he believed SLED helicopters stopped hovering overhead.

Stinnette was awaiting trial for the murder of Jerry Johnson back in 2018. Sheriff Dennis says with Stinnette on the loose, his team was not going to give up on finding him.

“It does concern me when we have someone with the caliber of Stephen Stinnette into the public out here with the citizens, not only in Sumter County, but in the State of South Carolina, for him to be at large. And it concerned me all through the night, and my intentions were at that time to continue the search until he was apprehended,” Sheriff Dennis said.

It was around 4 a.m. Friday when deputies found Stinnette in the woods. Sheriff Dennis said Stinnette had injuries from the barbed wire, and also appeared to have been bitten by a snake. He was treated for those injuries and briefly returned to the detention center.

Sheriff Dennis said Stinnette will no longer be housed at the Sumter County Detention Center. He also said he plans on bringing in someone with the Department of Corrections to make sure an incident like this doesn’t happen again.

Stinnette and the other two inmates who tried to escape are expected to face additional charges. Two guards who were involved in the altercation with the inmates suffered minor injuries, but Sheriff Dennis expects them to be alright.