A 24-year-old man accused of breaking into a jewellery vendor’s store more than a year ago was finally arrested last Thursday while apparently hiding out in a Kampot province pagoda. The victim said she lost 375 grams of jewellery as well as 12 million riels, or US$3,000, during the brazen theft. Police arrested the suspect at a local pagoda after the man had asked the head of the pagoda if he could lie low there for a while. Police said the arrest was the result of a helpful tip from local villagers. Police have not identified any other suspects in the case.

Reckless driving | A Horry County police officer narrowly missed wrecking with a vehicle involved in a road rage incident in Garden City while responding to a call about two men, 46 and 28, fighting in a parking lot after possibly crashing. While the officer was going there, one of the vehicles described approached at a high rate of speed, with another vehicle close behind, and almost hit the officer. Both drivers were yelling out of the windows, trying to get the officer’s attention, and were yelling at each other. The officer got them to pull off the road and they exited their vehicles yelling and trying to confront each other. The older man said the younger man “cut him off” and he “gave him the middle finger.”

He said the younger man followed him, driving recklessly, blocking him and driving in the wrong lane. He said they stopped, he approached the other vehicle to “apologize” and the driver accelerated, trying to hit him. He said the side mirror hit him in the head and broke. The officer saw no injuries. The younger man said the older man hit his mirror and broke it on purpose, so he got out, hit the other man’s mirror and left. The older man got in his wife’s vehicle and chased him, and they encountered the officer. A witness said both men hit the mirrors on purpose and the younger man did not accelerate and try to hit he older man. They each got a courtesy summons for reckless driving.

Criminal domestic violence | A Carolina Forest woman, 24, told a Horry County police officer that her ex-fiancé, who she still lives with, threw her on the bed, grabbed her by the throat, choked her, and stuck his fingers in her mouth, pushing them to the back of her throat. She said he did it because he thought she had taken his oxycodone pill, which she denied. According to the report, the woman had slight scratches to her lip and mouth area. She said she kicked at her ex-fiancé and freed herself, and that he pushed her into a nightstand, told her he wished he could beat her and left. EMS arrived and she refused treatment. The officer planned to present the case to a magistrate.