OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — A man in Oconee County is facing charges after authorities say he stole a full-grown horse and then allegedly tried to hide it in a bedroom.
According to the incident report, deputies responded to the 100 block of Country Lane in Mountain Rest, South Carolina to reports that the suspect had been seen riding down the road on a horse and eventually taking it inside a home on Country Lane.
Initially, deputies were unable to make contact with the suspect, hearing him speaking but not being able to make out exactly what he was saying.
Dispatch was able to contact the suspect's father who was not far away. He later told deputies that the home was his and that his son wasn't supposed to be there.
Upon entering the home, deputies stated in the report that they found signs that the horse may be nearby.
"I immediately observed that there was horse feces in the living room," the responding deputy wrote.
The deputy then demanded the alleged horse thief exit the bedroom. Initially, authorities said he complied but then retreated when the deputy tried to take him into custody.
"It was at this time that I observed a full-size quarter horse standing in the middle of the bedroom," the deputy wrote.
The suspect was ultimately taken into custody without any further incidents noted in the report.
The deputy stated that he read the man his Miranda Rights but "the only thing that made sense concerning the incident was that the horse's name was Jubilee."
The complainant later told deputies that the suspect was her nephew and that they had previous issues with him stealing from them. So when she saw him riding down the road, and knowing the family didn't own any horses, she called law enforcement.
The suspect's father, working with a sheriff's office corporal, later found the owner of the horse who was able to identify it and valued the animal at about $6,500 - adding that she intended to pursue charges for theft of livestock.
The horse was described as calm throughout the unusual incident and, other than a small red cut on the front left leg was not described as having additional injuries.
As for the suspect, authorities said he was wanted on additional charges. Other reports provided by the sheriff's office list burglary, petit larceny, trespassing, and at least one case where the suspect was seen throwing a mandolin into a longtime neighbor's pasture.
For the horse theft, he now faces an additional charge of stealing livestock valued at more than $2,000 and less than $10,000.
