Midlands couple who opened fire on cops from stolen minivan arrested, police say
A Midlands couple was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges stemming from shooting at law enforcement from a stolen car, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Cleo D. Strong lied about her role in the incident and her relationship with Phillip Michael King, according to an arrest warrant. But investigators learned the 34-year-old Columbia resident was driving the stolen Dodge Journey, while her boyfriend shot at pursuing officers from the backseat.
SLED said the incident, where Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers returned gun fire, happened Sept. 22.
The officers were trying “to stop a Dodge Journey which was reported stolen by the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office,” according to an arrest warrant. But Strong failed to stop, police said, leading to a chase where King opened fire on the pursuing officer.
Two suspects ran away from the Dodge, once it stopped, while three others remained inside and were arrested, WIS-TV reported.
Strong was one of the suspects arrested inside of the vehicle, but she “misled agents about her seating location in the vehicle and further misled agents by denying having knowledge of the identity of the shooter, stating that she just met him that day,” according to an arrest warrant.
Other witnesses told investigators that Strong and King, who was one of the suspects who escaped, were in a relationship, per the arrest warrant. When he was questioned, King said he and Strong “have been in a relationship for 7 months and she was in the vehicle.”
After being read his rights, King admitted he was the backseat passenger that “fired a handgun, a Smith & Wesson 9mm, at law enforcement during the pursuit,” according to an arrest warrant.
The 31-year-old Orangeburg resident was charged with three counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a stolen handgun, and possession of a stolen handgun with the serial number damaged or removed, SLED reported.
Strong has been charged with misprison of a felony, according to SLED.
King and Strong were taken to the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center.
The incident was the 29th officer-involved shooting in S.C. in 2018, and the first involving the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. In 2017, there were 49 officer-involved shootings in S.C.
This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 7:42 PM.