Missing Columbia woman last seen dropping off child arrested after armed robbery, cops say
A woman who was reported missing by the Columbia Police Department last month, is one of three suspects arrested in thearmed robbery of a Dollar General discount store, according to Thursday’s news release from the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Columbia police reported Porscha LeAnn Hardy missing “after she dropped (off) her child at a local daycare center” on Dec. 15, according to The State.
The 24-year-old Columbia woman was located by the Orangeburg Sheriff’s Office, which arrested Hardy in addition to Shakema White and Levond Keitt for the Dec. 18 armed robbery, the news release reported.
Hardy, the 22-year-old White and the 23-year-old Keitt were each charged with “armed robbery while armed with a deadly weapon,” according to the news release. The sheriff’s office added that Hardy and White, of Orangeburg, were also charged with possession of a weapon during a crime.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said in spite of reports that Hardy was missing, his office “developed information that indicated she was part of the Dollar General robbery,” according to the news release.
That included video taken during the Dollar General robbery, which showed “two female suspects who were eventually determined to be Hardy and White,” the sheriff’s office said in the news release. Keitt was “driving a getaway car parked outside,” per the news release.
Keitt and White were arrested Wednesday in a traffic stop in Calhoun County, Ravenell said in the news release. Keitt ran off into a “wooded area,” but was caught following a three-hour search that involved a helicopter, the sheriff’s office reported in the news release.
Police arrested Hardy Thursday at a Columbia residence, according to the news release.
In the news release, Ravenell said more arrests and charges are possible, and a bond hearing was set for Hardy, White and Keitt on Thursday at the Orangeburg County Law Enforcement Complex.
This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 3:54 PM.
