Nicholas Wayne Hamlett (Monroe County (Tenn.) Sheriff’s Office).
An eagle-eyed hospital worker in South Carolina identified a fugitive from Tennessee who allegedly murdered a man and tried to stage the scene as a bear attack.
Columbia police officers arrested Nicholas Wayne Hamlett Sunday evening after an employee at a hospital recognized him and alerted authorities. Cops took Hamlett into custody. A fingerprint scan positively identified the suspect. Hamlett is in the custody of U.S. Marshals and is awaiting extradition back to Tennessee.
Hamlett is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd. Investigators learned that Hamlett befriended Lloyd with the intent on killing him in order to steal his identity. Lloyd had mental health issues dating back to when he was placed for adoption at birth, cops said. His adoptive family said he suffered from trust issues and sometimes lived on the streets. Detectives say Hamlett lured him out to the woods and concocted a scheme to cover up the killing.
🚨CAPTURED🚨Fugitive & Monroe Co. Tennessee murder suspect #NicholasWayneHamlett was located & identified at a @CityofColumbia hospital a short time ago. Hamlett is in the temporary custody of @USMS_Columbia Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force. pic.twitter.com/CVVzQ8A92d
— Columbia Police Dept (@ColumbiaPDSC) November 10, 2024
Steven Douglas Lloyd (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office).
Citizens in Chapin, South Carolina, about 20 miles northwest of Columbia, reported seeing Hamlett on Halloween night, local reports said.
As Law&Crime previously reported, authorities say that on Oct. 18, at approximately 11:34 a.m., Monroe County’s E-911 — which provides location and phone number information of callers — got a call transferred from their Polk County counterparts regarding a “distressed hiker” who claimed to be a man by the name of Brandon Andrade.
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“He advised the dispatcher that he had fallen off a cliff while running from a bear,” they wrote. “The distressed caller claimed that he was injured and partially in the water.”
The call pinged in the area of Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains. First responders showed up, searched the area, and indeed found a dead man with the identification of Brandon Kristopher Andrade on his body.
But when law enforcement dug deeper, officials learned that the victim was not Andrade, and that in fact the ID had been stolen and used multiple times elsewhere.
They claim that Hamlett had been using the ID and was wanted in Alabama on a parole violation.
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
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