Uninvited house guest's high-speed escape ends in crash; driver claims he was just 'taking pictures.'
An accused burglar told Martin County deputies he wasn't stealing, just 'taking pictures' inside a house after homeowners caught him in the act. Seth Mcalhany , 20, of Charleston, South Carolina is charged with burglary of an occupied structure and possession of a fictitious drivers license.
Saturday night at about 10pm, Martin County Dispatch alerted Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies to a burglary in progress at a home in Sailfish Point, a wealthy gated neighborhood on Hutchinson Island. The homeowners came home to find someone inside their home. The alleged burglar then sped away in a small SUV. Immediately following the first call, deputies say another alert came in for a similar SUV crashing into some mangroves a short distance from Sailfish Point on SE Macarthur Blvd. According to dispatch, the driver ran from the scene on foot. Three former Marines, who were on vacation in Florida staying with their wives and kids at an Air BnB, were outside and heard the crash. "I heard the tires squealing and a very abrupt hard impact," said Andrew Sargent, a former Marine from North Carolina."There wasn't anybody to be seen until we started walking around here and we could hear someone rustling in the trees and mangroves over here," said Matt Dubinski, a former Marine from Wisconsin. They say Mcalhany had blood on his clothes and was barefoot standing shin-deep in mud. But he appeared to be okay.At that point they were unaware he had just broken into someone's house. They helped him find his cell phone which was on the floor of his vehicle, and they say Mcalhany started to run. "Once he got his phone in his hand, he started high-steppin' and was trying to get out of there and then that's when we chased him," Dubinski explained. "My friend here took off after him and ran him 50-60 feet down the road basically right into the officers that were comin' down the road. They threw their door open so we didn't have to tackle him at that point in time. But they got out and had him on the ground immediately," Sargent said. Martin County Sheriff's Office Major Josh Kloster had just left a Lincoln Day Dinner nearby. He was dressed in shirt and tie and his wife was with him in the car. He responded to the scene and intercepted Mcalhany. "He happens upon the suspect and these three Marines coming down Macarthur Blvd. and he's able to take the suspect into custody and make an arrest. The Major came out and did his job as if he was a line deputy. Rank doesn't matter. He came out and he's a cop's cop and we're proud of him for that," Sheriff Budensiek said."Just being calm in a high-stress situation. You know, when we're walking into that we don't know exactly what the circumstance is but maintaining a level head is definitely the key. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Absolutely. Absolutely, no doubt about it," Sargent said. "Why is that?" we asked. "I mean if somebody needs help we're gonna help 'em out and if somebody's doing wrong, if we can stop them we're gonna stop them. That's just, that's what we do. That's ingrained into us not just as a Marine. That's just as a man you should do that," said Sargent. "If you have an opportunity to step in and do something right, you should always do it," Dubinski said. "I love every minute of it. You know those guys sacrificed their lives in the Marine Corps. Those are public servants. They've already exemplified that. They were extremely impressive, not afraid to jump into action," said Sheriff Budensiek.'I'm touring your house' At the burglarized home, deputies say they met the homeowners who said they returned from dinner around 10 p.m. to find an SUV parked in their driveway. They told MCSO that upon entering the home they heard a voice upstairs say "I'm touring your house," followed by a loud crash.The couple abruptly left the home and called their home security company. They told the company that their home had been under construction and they were unsure if the front door was locked.Investigators noted that the front door was open and the plastic over the doorway had been ripped.Mcalhany told deputies a very different series of events. He told deputies he was there because his friend "Jesse" had asked him to take pictures of the home for his father's real estate company. Mcalhany stated that he was taking pictures when he heard people in the home causing him to drop the printer he was holding and ran away because his license was expired. He also said he bumped into things on his way out because 'the lights were off,' and he 'didn't steal anything.' Based on the evidence and statements, deputies determined that Mcalhany had entered the home, disturbed items, ran from the residence when the homeowners came home and made multiple traffic violations in his escape from the gated community. Deputies booked Mcalhany on burglary of an occupied dwelling, attempted grand theft and possession of a fictitious driver's license which Mcalhany admits he uses to purchase alcohol.
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