Wednesday, the City of North Myrtle Beach became the first municipality in Horry County to hold a court hearing via video conference. City officials say the new method saves time and money.

Christopher Vereen became the first defendant to agree to the new method of hearing cases this afternoon. He pleaded guilty to simple possession from J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway. City Judge Blake Martin heard the case more than 20 miles away in a North Myrtle Beach courtroom, all thanks to a camera and a fiber optic cable connecting the two facilities.

"If we do this, we can be notified and in a matter of minutes. If we needed to, could have things set up so that we could do a guilty plea. Cuts down on the costs to the city and other agencies for transport and would also help us out as far as safety concerns," said Blake.

NMB officials say the new video conference option is a cost effective way to handle guilty pleas and bond hearings that can tie up an officer anywhere from four to six hours.

"It takes somewhere between four and six hours to go pick up a defendant from the J. Reuben Long facility bring them back have the hearing bring them back to Conway then have our officers come back again," said spokesman Pat Dowling. "So that's gas, it's officers time. We lose focus on normal policing duties because of it and also on the defendants side if they're going to post bail they get out sooner."

Dowling goes on to say the new option is long overdue, "As overcrowding becomes more emphasized and as budgets shrink and you can't build new facilities as easily as you have in the past these types of things will facilitate the justice system. But you always have to be certain that when you put these things together that the focus is on the rights of the defendant to have his or her day in court."

Certain rules do apply to the process.

"The judge has to be in his or her robes.. has to be in the regular courtroom setting.. has to be obviously during regular court hours. You can't do this at home or just throw on a shirt and do it. it's very formal because they want the defendant to have the same sense of decorum," explained Dowling.

It cost the city of NMB $7,500 for the system, but Dowling said it's expected to pay for itself in six months.

Also, the defendant has to agree to the new high tech court hearing..

Dowling added the City of Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, and Conway may soon follow suit.