Man SWAT was after on Isle of Palms captured at North Charleston Walmart

SWAT members stormed a room at an Isle of Palms hotel this morning in search of a man wanted in multiple states for “bank crimes” but didn’t find him inside.

The fugitive, 31-year-old Joshua Ainsworth, was captured by Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deputies at the Walmart store at Tanger Outlet in North Charleston.

Authorities surrounded the Palms Hotel about 10 a.m. because they believed Ainsworth had barricaded himself inside. The Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrived on the scene shortly after.

Authorities said Ainsworth, who is from Columbia, was stopped by police Wednesday but fled from a pickup truck. They later learned he had warrants in South Carolina and Georgia.

Officials say Ainsworth was believed to have been inside a room on the third floor of the three-story Palms Hotel. After a couple of hours, witnesses heard two loud booms and reported a cloud of smoke from the hotel but deputies say no one was inside.

City Administrator Linda Tucker had said the person inside was wanted in multiple states for “banking crimes.”

According to Isle of Palms Police Capt. Kim Usry, Ainsworth was taken into custody without incident at Tanger Outlet. Sheriff’s Maj. Jim Brady said deputies got a tip that Ainsworth might be at Walmart. Ainsworth was being held at the Cannon Detention Center on arrest warrants from Horry County, Brady said.