Horry County crime rates on record-breaking pace midway through the year, police chief says
Through the first quarter of 2025 that ended March 31, authorities took more than 121 pounds of drugs off the street, seized nearly $138,000 worth of assets, arrested 55 fugitives and took 59 firearms.
'Our officers are out there doing the work, getting things done, identifying folks and getting charges on these cases,' Leonhardt said.
Leonhardt said 10 known Blood gang members were also arrested after police broke up a crime ring in the Little River area earlier this year.
May was a particularly grueling month with a spate of high-profile incidents including a mass shooting in Little River, disciplinary action against several officers tied to the 2022 road rage death of Scott Spivey and multiple home invasions in the Conway area.
'Thank you for the great work that the Horry County Police Department's doing. You've had a lot of distractions the last couple of months. You've put up with a lot of crap, but I appreciate the great job,' council member Tom Anderson said. 'I think the gross majority of our police are professionals, and I'm on your team and in favor of you.'
Public safety administrator Randall Webster said events like Memorial Day weekend, motorcycle rallies and the Myrtle Beach Classic already require a heavier law enforcement presence, but over the past couple of years it's been even more of a challenge.
'The call volume is increasing every year, and the incident types are getting more severe each and every year,' he said.
Councilwoman Jenna Dukes said she's concerned about the crime spike and strain it has on law enforcement.
'May is getting bigger and bigger, like you said. And we did have a few incidents that could have went another direction. So as we move into next year, can we just take a deeper look at May and how it's affecting us, both manpower and financially,' she said. 'Honestly, I mean, people are exhausted.'
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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Shelby Martin is a multimedia journalist who joined the News13 team in May 2025. Shelby is from Orange County, California, and graduated in 2023 from California State University, Fullerton. You can read more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Where are most crimes happening in Myrtle Beach area? These areas have the highest
The amount of crime happening in Horry County has been a top concern of local residents. It's not just crime that is increasing, it's also the boldness of the suspects who commit the crimes. In recent months, law enforcement has dealt with a string of high-profile crimes in Horry County, including a shooting at a Little River boat party, suspects shooting at police during a high-speed chase and three shootings – two that were deadly – on North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Data shows that certain areas of Horry County receive a higher number of crimes than other areas. But, in reality, no area has been immune from criminal activity. Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt said that this year is on track to be one of the busiest in the number of incidents for police. Most of it is occurring near permanent residents along the coast with gang activity heightening near inland towns of Aynor and Longs, Leonhardt said. However, an independent crime statistics organization shows that most of the violent crimes are happening in the tourist areas of the county, as well as in the Carolina Forest area. Carolina Forest in the Myrtle Beach area has seen a tremendous population growth, requiring additional schools to be built, roads to be widened and emergency services to build additional fire stations and add more police units to keep up with the influx of crime and growth. Horry County Police is adding a fifth police precinct in the Carolina Forest area to be implemented in August and a new gang police unit which is already in place. During a public safety meeting in June, Leonhardt highlighted a high in calls for service with more than 16,000 received in May. That includes 337 calls for violent crimes, according to Horry County data from a May Public Safety Committee meeting agenda. Calls for service occur when emergency personnel are requested to respond to an emergency situation, such as a 911 call or a directive from a passerby. During the same time last year, police received more than 17,000 calls for service. But Horry County Police also did not have as many deadly or violent incidents as they have this year, the chief said. Where's the most crime? Tourist areas dominate calls for service in Horry County, police data shows. The south precinct encompasses Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Socastee, which from 2023 to May 2025 has almost always received the most calls for service out of Horry County Police's four precincts. Leonhardt said the south is the busiest because it's where most permanent residents live. But a more detailed map from Crime Grade shows that most violent crime incidents per capita in Horry County occur in tourist areas where fewer residents live, not in Socastee or other residential areas. Crime Grade rates counties across the country based on machine-learning projection from previous reported data. At the end of each projection, it gives a grade. Myrtle Beach earned a D+ for its overall crime grade. Crime Grade's map shows that more crime occurred in Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Heights, near 21st and 22nd avenues North to Springmaid Beach, and even the Market Common district. That area includes popular tourist destinations like North Ocean Boulevard. However, Crime Grade pointed out that these areas may show high crime in part because of the few permanent residents in the area. 'Areas with high visitor traffic, such as shopping districts, may appear to have higher crime rates simply because more crimes occur where people gather – even if few residents live there,' according to the interpretation from Crime Grade's website. 'The south part of the county has more retail establishments, which can artificially inflate violent crime rates in that area.' It is the same explanation offered by Myrtle Beach city officials and Police Chief Amy Prock, who said that many of the recent violent crimes happening in the city have been committed by people who are not from Horry County. The deadly mass shooting that involved a Myrtle Beach Police officer in April occurred in the 900 block of North Ocean Boulevard and begun after a Marlboro County teenager allegedly fired his weapon into a crowd along a busy sidewalk downtown. Marlboro County, which includes Bennettsville, where the gunman lived, was given an F for crime and the city is shown with a high level of crime, according to Crime Grade's data. Other high violent crime areas in Horry County include Carolina Forest and neighborhoods along S.C. 9 between Loris and Longs where Horry County Police have said gang activity is high. The latest data showed the south precinct had received more than 6,000 calls for service in May. The north precinct, which contains Longs, Little River and North Myrtle Beach, is the fastest growing precinct in the county and where the county's new gang unit focuses much of its efforts, Leonhardt said. It received more than 4,700 calls for service in May. Leonhardt said that Horry County is not necessarily becoming more dangerous, but residents are seeing more crime because of the department's transparency efforts and media coverage. 'We see more bigger crime, so to speak,' Leonhardt said. 'We've always had crime issues. I think we're doing a better job of getting that information out there to our public so we are more transparent showing what is going on in your community. So I think that is great.' Locals commit crime too Myrtle Beach, however, continues to be reported as one of the most dangerous cities in South Carolina, according to previous reporting. It's something that city officials have continually refuted. Police agencies in Horry County reported 19 murders, according to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's most recent crime report in 2023. That number is greater than almost all other police agencies in the state, though the murder rate per capita is lower than other counties such as Marlboro, Florence and Marion counties, the report showed. Leonhardt said that despite skepticism that most crimes come from people from outside the Myrtle Beach area, it's more complicated than placing most blame on non-residents. Many permanent residents commit crime in Horry County too, he said. More than 17 million people visit the Myrtle Beach area every year according to Visit Myrtle Beach. 'We have a mixture really because we are such a destination area,' Leonhardt said. 'So you'll see some of what I call 'transient crime' come here, they'll look for opportunities, if they find those, they exploit them, then they leave.' HCPD's strategy To deal with the influx of people in Horry County, the department will implement a fifth police precinct in the Carolina Forest area by Aug. 26. The department has also filled around 50 positions in two years which is unprecedented for other departments in the area, HCPD Public Information Officer Mikayla Moskov said. Myrtle Beach Police has previously said it has a shortage of 50 officers. 'We always keep track of our statistics,' Leonhardt said. 'Growth really drove the desire to start a new precinct and to be able to provide better services.' Horry County's population has grown by more than 60,000 people or 17.1% from 2020 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census. Leonhardt said the department's main safety strategy is deterrence through visibility. 'Being that visible deterrent is a huge first step,' Leonhardt said. 'But on the backside of that, it goes to growing those specialty units that can focus on special crimes. We've grown our traffic team, we've grown our street crimes team, our narcotics team, the implementation of the new gang unit has helped, I think it's a fine combination of all that is making a difference to make our community safer really.' Leonhardt has been working with HCPD since 2002, and has lived in the county since he was 6 or 7 years old, he said. Despite many of the crimes residents are seeing around the area, he couldn't pick a place he wouldn't live in. 'I live in Little River. I've lived there my whole life. I don't plan on going anywhere,' Leonhardt said. 'I love it. It's just my area, and so I think to say one area I couldn't do it, because it's all unique and it brings its own special flavor.'
Politico
3 days ago
- Politico
Massachusetts court crisis
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Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
Missing hiker's body found in Sequoia National Park
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