License to Steal

July 30, 2014 permalink

South Carolina social worker Nicole Murray forgot that her license to steal only applied to children. She and partner Matthew Kline have been arrested for burglary.

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South Carolina DSS worker among two charged in Carolina Forest burglary

DSS worker charged in burglary

Nicole Murray (left) and Matthew Kline (right) have been charged in connection with a recent burglary in Carolina Forest. Murray is employed by the S.C. Department of Social Services.

Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 3:13 pm | Updated: 9:49 am, Wed Jul 30, 2014. By Michael Smith Michael.smith@myhorrynews.com

An employee with the S.C. Department of Social Services has been charged in connection with a recent burglary in the Carolina Forest area, according to police records.

Nicole Marie Murray, 28, of Carolina Forest, was charged with burglary, second degree.

Murray was booked at J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 11:59 a.m. July 23. Bond was set at $5,000, according to Horry County jail records, and she remained behind bars as of press time.

An official with DSS authorized to speak about Murray’s employment history couldn’t be reached for comment.

According to an Horry County police report, Murray was driving a vehicle with state tags and she identified herself as an employee with Child Protective Services, which operates under DSS.

A call to Murray’s work number refers callers needing immediate assistance to contact her supervisor, who’s also named as a witness in the police report.

Also charged was Matthew Franklin Kline, of Conway. Kline is identified in arrest warrants as Murray’s boyfriend. Kline has been charged with burglary, second degree and obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, under $2,000. He was booked at 1:20 p.m. July 21.

Bond was set at $30,000 for the burglary charge and $2,500 for the second charge, and he was released three days later, jail records show.

According to arrest warrants, the charges are in connection with a home burglary that occurred July 21 in the 2000 block of Haystack Way in Carolina Forest.

The victim, 26, said he came home at about noon July 21 to find a male suspect fleeing his yard toward an unoccupied car. The suspect entered the vehicle, which according to the warrant was a Honda Civic registered to Murray. Inside the car were TVs taken from the victim’s home and other property, the warrant states.

Before discovering the burglary, Murray met the victim in front of his home. She was driving a Dodge Stratus with state tags, the warrant states.

An incident report said the woman identified herself as an employee of Child Protective Services, and then began asking the victim about a person who she thought was living in his home.

According to the report and arrest warrant, the questioning appeared to be a diversionary tactic.

“The victim felt Murray was intentionally trying to divert him/delay his entry to the home by asking him a barrage of questions claiming she was working a case,” the warrant states.

The warrant added that before Murray arrived, he heard a horn honk several times and thought it was her warning the suspect.

According to the police report, the victim entered the house and the woman drove off. Once inside he noticed a TV in the living room was missing and the back glass door was shattered, the report said.

The victim then heard a car alarm and went outside. He spotted a male suspect exit the car and walk toward Coopers Court, according to the report.

He continued following the suspect and called a 911 dispatcher, who told him to stop following the suspect until officers arrived, the report continued.

Police detained the suspect a short time later. The victim was able to positively identify the suspect and recover his stolen property.

According to the report, the suspect took two TV sets, a Macbook laptop, an iPod, an $8,000 diamond ring, a $1,200 yellow ring and various other items of jewelry.

A supplemental report states that neither police nor Murray’s supervisor could reach her by phone the morning of the burglary.

The woman also failed to show for up a meeting, and her supervisor feared initially that she may have been in danger, the report said. Police checked on Murray’s house and found that the back door was open and unsecure.

After performing a protective sweep, the male suspect later identified in police records as Kline was sitting on a bed in a bonus room, the report continued.

Murray told police when she left for work at 9 a.m., her boyfriend and her car were both gone. She said in the report that she had a bad feeling about it and drove around looking for him.

According to the report, Murray said she found the car parked along Carolina Farms Boulevard and began talking to someone who was outside. Murray said in the report that she didn’t think her boyfriend was there, so she left.

The report said she returned a short time later and found police cars at her house. Fearing something bad had happened, she went to the Carolina Forest Library and called her supervisor.

Source: My Horry News