A 49-year-old man is wanted by the York County Sheriff's Office after deputies say he broke into two vehicles at separate Fort Mill apartment complexes weeks apart, then used a victim's stolen credit cards at a North Carolina convenience store just miles from the scene. Eric Lamonte Johnson was identified as the suspect after surveillance cameras captured him making purchases with the stolen cards, according to the sheriff's office.
The first break-in happened on July 22, when a 2014 Honda Civic was broken into at The Villas of Fort Mill apartments on Chateau Crossing Drive, and credit cards were stolen from inside, per the York County Sheriff's Office. Those cards were later used at a 7-Eleven on South Polk Street in Pineville, North Carolina, according to WCNC Charlotte, which reported that store cameras caught Johnson wearing a black t-shirt and a baseball hat while making the fraudulent transactions.
WANTED: On July 22, 2026, a 2014 Honda Civic was broken into at The Villas of Fort Mill apartments, and credit cards were stolen. They were later used at a 7-Eleven in Pineville, NC. On August 5, a 2014 Nissan Rogue was broken into at The Haven at Regent Park apartments, and… pic.twitter.com/kpTBckKdNW
— York County Sheriff (@YCSO_SC) August 12, 2026
Then on August 5, a second vehicle break-in was reported at The Haven at Regent Park apartments on Cool Bridge Circle, where a 2014 Nissan Rogue was broken into and a victim's purse was stolen, per the York County Sheriff. Both apartment complexes sit in northern York County, only a few miles from the North Carolina border and the town of Pineville, a proximity that has repeatedly allowed suspects in similar cases to slip across state lines soon after a theft, per the station's report.
Who Deputies Are Looking For
The sheriff's office describes Johnson as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds, with a bald head and brown eyes. His last known address is listed on Sabal Park Drive in Pineville. Deputies have not said whether Johnson acted alone in either break-in, and the sheriff's bulletin does not specify whether the vehicles were locked or showed signs of forced entry.
Anyone who spots Johnson is asked to call the York County Sheriff's Office at (803) 628-3059. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers of York County, which offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest or the recovery of stolen property.
A Recurring Problem Along the State Line
Since its founding in April 2000, Crime Stoppers of York County has logged more than 8,100 tips and approved over $97,000 in cash rewards, contributing to more than 1,400 arrests and roughly $800,000 in recovered stolen property, according to the organization. That track record underscores how central public tips have become to solving these cross-border property crimes in the region.
Vehicle break-ins are treated seriously under South Carolina law. Breaking or attempting to break into a car or its compartment with intent to steal is a felony under South Carolina Code § 16-13-160, carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. Separately, using stolen credit cards to make purchases falls under South Carolina's Financial Transaction Card Crime Act, which the South Carolina Legislature notes imposes penalties ranging from misdemeanors to felonies depending on the value of goods obtained.
This is not the first time northern York County has dealt with this exact pattern of car break-ins followed by credit card fraud. Fort Mill saw a similar case investigated by the sheriff's office in December, and a separate wanted bulletin for a suspect accused of financial crimes followed in January. Whether the current case is connected to those earlier investigations remains unclear, and the sheriff's office has not indicated any link between them.
