In the early morning hours of March 25, 2021, the life of 43-year-old Jermaine Stewart of Conway, South Carolina, was tragically cut short. Stewart, a Black male, was found unresponsive on the second floor of the Waterpark Hotel on South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound. Myrtle Beach police responded to reports of a shooting at approximately 1:20 a.m. and pronounced him dead at the scene.
His death was the violent culmination of what investigators believe to be a drug-related robbery.
The subsequent investigation by the Myrtle Beach Police Department quickly uncovered a sprawling drug operation. Inside the hotel room where Stewart's body was discovered, authorities found a significant cache of narcotics, including crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. The inquiry expanded to two other locations, the Motel 6 on Frontage Road East and the Bermuda Sands Motel on North Ocean Boulevard, where more drugs and evidence were seized. At the Bermuda Sands Motel, another man was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, further linking the violent events of that night.
In connection with the murder and the associated drug enterprise, police arrested eight individuals, including one juvenile. The primary suspect in Stewart's death was identified as Jeffrey Seth Eckard, 33, of Greenville. He faced a litany of charges, including murder, armed robbery, and numerous drug-related offenses. Authorities alleged that Eckard had planned to rob Stewart and shot him during the commission of that crime. The investigation also revealed that a juvenile was present with Eckard in the hotel room where a variety of narcotics were found, leading to concerns about the endangerment of a minor.
Another man, Michael Ray Phillips, 30, of Myrtle Beach, was also implicated and faced charges including accessory after the fact to armed robbery and various drug and weapons offenses. Melissa Hudson, 28, was among the others arrested, charged with trafficking methamphetamine and heroin, possession of crack cocaine, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The widespread arrests underscored the police department's belief that the homicide was a direct result of conflicts arising from groups traveling to Myrtle Beach to engage in the illicit drug trade.
