Man accused of paddling away with thousands in stolen goods from boat on Lake Murray
A man was arrested after the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said he used a kayak to steal thousands of dollars worth of items from a boat docked on Lake Murray over the weekend.
Eric Nickels, 36, is accused of stealing electronics and boating items from the boat docked off Able Harmon Lane on Aug. 21, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
“Nickels paddled a kayak up to a boat ... and unloaded items from the boat into a second kayak he was towing,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release. “The boat owner tells us more than $5,000 worth of stuff was taken from the boat, including speakers, amplifiers, a subwoofer and batteries.”
During a search of Nickels’ home Monday, investigators found a trolling motor reported stolen in a separate incident, according to the sheriff.
“The trolling motor had been painted black to conceal any identifying markings, including its serial number,” Koon said.
Information on what led investigators to Nickels was not available.
Nickels was arrested Monday night on charges of grand larceny (value more than $2,000 but less than $10,000) and receiving stolen goods (value more than $2,000 but less than $10,000), the sheriff’s department said.
His bond was set at $5,000 on the receiving stolen goods charge and he remains behind bars in the Lexington County Detention Center, jail records show.
Nickels is also being held on two counts of shoplifting and for a failure to return video or cassette tape charge, according to jail records.
This is not the first time Nickels has been charged with a crime, and his record includes other incidents involving boats.
In 2014, he pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge, and a year later Nickels pleaded guilty to a burglary charge, Lexington County court records show.
Nickels was also fined after being found guilty of two separate watercraft crimes in 2009, according to court records.
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