Two people walking, riding bicycle robbed at gunpoint. Three people arrested in incidents

A man taking his early morning walk Friday along a roadway in the Carolina Forest area was robbed at gunpoint, police said.

It was one of two armed robberies that occurred that morning resulting in three people being arrested, according to a police report.

Michael Allen Benedict, 45, of Bimingham, New York; Olivia Powell, 23, of Endicott, New York; and Anthony Joseph Heim, 29, of Lexington, South Carolina, were all charged with armed robbery and robbery while armed with a deadly weapon. They are still incarcerated Monday at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Police say in reports that the suspects used BB guns that were believed to be a deadly weapon.

Police responded to the intersection of Gardner Lacy Road and Clear Pond Boulevard Friday where a man stated that he was out for his daily walk about 5:15 a.m. when a dark gray SUV pulled up and robbed him at gunpoint, the police report said.

A short time later another armed robbery occurred in the area, the report said.

About 5:27 a.m., police responded to Saddlewood Circle in Myrtle Beach area where another man told police he was riding his bicycle northbound on Clear Pond Boulevard when a light blue SUV pulled onto the curb in front of him, the police report said.

The man said the driver of the vehicle exited the vehicle, ran around the vehicle, pulled out a gun and placed it to his face, demanding his phone and money, the report said. The suspect then discharged the firearm into the ground and then fled in the vehicle.

Police later found the vehicle in Conway. Three suspects were found in the vehicle, the report said. Police found multiple cellphones, including one that belonged to the first victim, as well as multiple BB guns.

An officer used a cellphone to call the first victim’s number and at that point one of the cellphones recovered in the suspects’ vehicle began to ring, the report said.

Another report of a person being shot with what appears to be a BB or pellet gun was reported at 2:15 a.m. Friday, a police report said. However, it is not clear if this incident is related to the other two robberies.

Officers responded to West Perry Road where a victim told police that he was walking and a vehicle pulled up beside him, the report said.

The victim said a male wearing a face covering opened the rear driver’s side passenger door and said, “Freeze, don’t move,” the report said. The suspect than presented a firearm and began to shoot at him. The victim then ran and the vehicle fled, the report said.

The victim did not require immediate medical attention, but he did receive an injury in his abdominal region.