Man charged with armed robbery and kidnapping in January Taco Bell incident
Joseph Latrell Lewis McFadden. PHOTO COURTESY OF DCDC
A man has been charged in a chaotic Jan. 1 armed robbery at a Taco Bell in Hartsville, officials say.
Joseph Latrell Lewis McFadden was being held in the Darlington County jail on multiple counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, pointing or presenting a firearm and discharging a firearm inside the city limits. He was booked into the jail Jan. 20, jail records say.
About 12:45 a.m. on New Year’s Day, a man entered a Taco Bell at 907 S. 5th St. in Hartsville, armed with a gun, and went behind the counter, according to reports. The gunman allegedly entered the kitchen and made an employee lie on the floor, then seized the restaurant’s manager, put the gun to his back, and tried to make him get money out of a safe and cash registers, according to reports.
At some point during the incident, someone tried to leave the restaurant, but the gunman allegedly forced him back inside and held him at gunpoint. Frustrated in his attempts to get cash, the gunman ran out while firing four shots into the air, according to reports.
