The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Spartanburg, South Carolina is seeking a man charged with murder who fled after being released on bond, according to a press release.
They think he may be headed to Oklahoma, and Sheriff Steve Mueller said that trek would logically take him through the state of Arkansas in Oklahoma wwas his destination.
On January 2, Steven Douglas Neel, 24, of 156 Ridgecrest Drive, Blacksburg, cut off GPS monitoring equipment he was wearing as part of his bond and is now considered an escapee.
Neel was charged in relation to the March 2016 slaying of 35-year-old Carl Francis Burden, who was shot to death while sitting in a parked vehicle in Blacksburg
Burden, then 35, pulled over his car because he was arguing with his wife and they were going to switch drivers, according to police. That’s when another car pulled up and blocked them in and an argument started about a missing tattoo kit and the victim was shot through the car’s window.
Neel was last seen in Gaffney, South Carolina and investigators believe he may be headed for Oklahoma, the press release said. They did not give any reason he would be going to the Sooner state or provide an Oklahoma connection to the suspect.
Deputies in South Carolina have issued warrants for escape and malicious damage to property on Neel.
Neel is 24 years old, 6’3” tall, and weighs 260 pounds. He has a number of tattoos on his arms and hands, including a cross on his left hand and the initials “KMH” on his left wrist.
Anyone who sees Neel is asked not to approach him and to call their local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
