Man witnessed armed robbery while on Skype, one of three suspects arrested

A man watched on Skype as a masked gunman walked into his girlfriend’s bedroom and robbed her, Charleston police said.

Police on Monday arrested one of three suspects in connection with the incident, which police spokesman Charles Francis said happened at a Sumter Street home.

DeShawn Heyward, 20, of Chatman Avenue in Hanahan was charged with three counts of first-degree assault and battery, first-degree burglary, four counts of kidnapping, simple possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, Francis said.

A man was chatting with his girlfriend on Skype, a service that allows people to talk via webcam, when he saw a masked man walk into her bedroom with a pistol shortly after midnight, police said. The boyfriend quickly called police.

Two other masked men, armed with a second pistol and a baseball bat, also entered the home and robbed its residents of their money, cell phones, six laptops and other electronics, an incident report states.

The men attacked three of the residents, Francis said. Paramedics treated their injuries at the scene.

Police later arrested Heyward at Line Street and Rutledge Avenue, Francis said.

The residents described the other two suspects as black men in their 20s, with medium builds and 5 feet, 10 inches tall.

Heyward is being held at the Charleston County jail.

Anyone with information can call police at 577-7434 or Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.