Surfside Beach Police and investigators from the SC Department of Corrections located and arrested fugitive Billy Jack Hanna after a six day long undercover operation.
Police found Hanna just before midnight Tuesday night.
Investigators learned that Hanna was in the area early in the investigation, and narrowly missed capturing him at least twice during the nearly continuous operation.
Hanna escaped from SC Department of Corrections custody by walking off a work site in Charleston County on Sept. 5. Police say he likely used forged checks to fund his escape.
Hanna had been arrested before for burglaries in Surfside Beach. Police were conducting surveillance to protect prior victims, since Hanna usually returned to previous sites he robbed.
SBPD Chief of Police Mike Frederick said officers arrested Hanna during a surveillance operation at a Myrtle Beach strip club at approximately 11:30 PM. He was taken into custody and is being transported directly back to an undisclosed SCDC correctional facility, where he will face additional criminal charges.
SBPD's US Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force officer, SBPD officers, and officers with the Horry County Police Department also located an additional suspected burglary site in an Horry County campground where Hanna was believed to be hiding out for at least several days.
Hanna could face additional charges brought by HCPD in relation to that site.
Frederick added that Hanna is dangerous, and "he had several victims in Surfside Beach rightfully worried."
