LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office released this Thursday, August 10th, that 45-Year-Old Charles Tidwell Jr., was arrested in connection to the death of 24-year-old Stephen Lucas Amerson on Wednesday, August 9th.
Officials state that at approximately midnight, deputies of the Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 1050 Old Landsford Road, where they found Amerson on the floor inside the house with apparent stab wounds.
Deputies provided care to Amerson until Lancaster County Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived and took over treatment. Amerson was then transported to the Medical University of South Carolina Lancaster Medical Center, where he passed.
They say that Tidwell was immediately identified as a suspect since Tidwell and Amerson had prior difficulties.
According to Officials, witnesses said Tidwell burst into the house uninvited and approached and stabbed Amerson before running from the scene on foot.
A sheriff’s office K-9 unit tracked Tidwells sent to a house on 4th Street. The resident allowed investigators to search for Tidwell, who had been temporarily staying at the home but was not found.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said evidence believed to be associated with the crime was observed while searching the home.
According to officials, this allowed investigators to obtain a search warrant for both the property and for the scene on Old Landsford Road.
The Sheriff’s office says that both personnel and officers of the Lancaster Police Department searched several areas in and around the City of Lancaster overnight but did not locate Tidwell.
Later in the morning, deputies say they spotted Tidwell near Cross Street and was taken into custody without incident after a brief foot chase.
Tidwell was booked into the Lancaster County Detention Center, and warrants charging him with Murder, Burglary 1st Degree, and Possession of a Firearm or Knife during the Commission of a Violent Crime will be served upon him later today.
Tidwell will appear before a magistrate today or tomorrow morning for the consideration of bond.
Sheriff Barry Faile with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says, “Our condolences are extended to the family and friends of Mr. Amerson,”
Faile continues “A simmering dispute apparently led to this violent confrontation and the senseless death of Mr. Amerson. Our deputies and investigators and the K-9 unit quickly covered the area and observed and collected evidence which will be vital to the prosecution of this case. I want to thank Chief Don Roper and his officers for helping us keep the heat on Tidwell, which resulted in his arrest mere hours after his offenses.”
