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Myrtle Beach Police Charge Man Under Hate-Intimidation Law After Gunfire at LGBTQ Club

The case tests Myrtle Beach’s new hate-intimidation law in a state without a hate-crime statute.

Overview

  • Police say gunfire struck the club owner’s SUV outside Pulse Ultra Club late Wednesday morning, with video showing muzzle flashes from a silver car.
  • Officers stopped a matching vehicle hours later, recovered a gun and spent casings, and arrested 37-year-old Timothy James Truett Jr.
  • He faces counts that include hate intimidation under the city ordinance, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, discharging into a dwelling, shooting within city limits, and malicious injury to property.
  • No injuries were reported, and owner Ken Phillips said he heard five or six shots before finding his SUV’s window and windshield shattered.
  • Records show Truett is jailed on more than $312,000 bond with no public motive named, in the first use of the 2024 ordinance that advocates say highlights the need for a statewide law.