CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Security Forces Airmen and the Charleston County Sheriff's Department conducted a four-hour manhunt for an individual who illegally gained access to Charleston AFB Mar. 31.
At 6:20 a.m., Senior Airman Pimentel, an installation entry controller assigned to the 437th Security Forces Squadron, had a vehicle approach his gate and upon making contact with the driver, noticed an open container of alcohol in the passenger seat.
"Airman Pimentel radioed in to the security forces desk that he was initiating a traffic stop at the Rivers Gate," said Capt. Eli Jackson, 437 SFS operations officer. "When attempting to call for assistance the suspect entered the base without heeding the order to halt, so Airman Pimentel engaged the tire shredding system popping three of the vehicle's tires."
The driver then drove his vehicle down Arthur Drive away from the River's Gate until his vehicle became inoperable. After throwing a packet of an unknown white substance from his vehicle, the suspect fled on foot into the woodline adjacent to the auto hobby shop. With the assistance of the Charleston County Sheriffs Office, Security Forces Airmen established a cordon around the wooded area and began to search for the suspect.
Agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 310 here, responded to the scene and examined the suspect's vehicle.
With the assistance of AFOSI agents, CCSO verified the white powdery substance found outside of the suspect's vehicle was cocaine. It was later revealed the suspect had prior narcotics and DUI charges.
A search for the suspect was conducted by 437 SFS, CCSO and AFOSI for several hours but the suspect could not be located until the 437 SFS received a phone call from Senior Airman Daniel Hammontree, 437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
"I heard over the radio that security forces were looking for an individual in the vicinity of the dormitory area so when I got off work I decided to see if I could help them out," said Airman Hammontree. "I got a pretty good description of the person they were looking for from the Security Forces Airmen over the radio; so I went walking in the area of the base car wash to see if I could help find him."
Airman Hammontree said he observed a suspicious male who fit the description of the person the SF Airmen were looking for in the tree line and immediately called the security forces desk on his cell phone.
AFOSI and SFS Airmen responded to the area where Airman Hammontree last observed the individual and successfully flushed the suspect out of the woods.
The suspect was then apprehended by SFS Airman and detained until CCSO could take him into custody.
Members of AFOSI said that without the diligent efforts of Airman Pimentel and Airman Hammontree, a seven-time known drug offender could have escaped from justice and even though this was not a terrorism report, Airman Hammontree recognized the fundamental importance of reporting suspicious activity.
The Eagle Eyes program is often correlated with anti-terrorism, but Eagle Eyes also plays a crucial role in the identification of criminal activity.