A nationwide manhunt has ended for a man police want to kill after he said he used a fake identity to fake his own death in a bizarre 911 call claiming he fell off a cliff while running from a bear near the scenic Cherohala Skyway.
A hospital employee in Columbia, South Carolina, recognized Nicholas Hamlett and called the police, the Columbia Police Department showed in the evening of November 10, officials confirmed Hamlett’s identity with a fingerprint scanner and was taken into custody by the US Marshals Service.
Officials in South Carolina and Tennessee are coordinating the extradition.
Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones announced on October 25 that Hamlett, who uses the name Brandon Andrade, called 911 on October 18 in distress to say he was chased by a bear and fell from a cliff near a waterfall. Jones said first responders down at the scene found the body of a man with Andrade’s ID.
However, detectives later determined the victim was not Andrade and that he had been murdered, Jones said. Police identified the victim as Steven Douglas Lloyd of Knoxville and Jones said he died of blunt force trauma to the head, injuries not consistent with a bear attack or fall.
Hamlett, 45 years old, wanted by police in Alabama for violating parole and has been living in East Tennessee. However, he is not a resident of Monroe County.
At an Oct. 30 news conference, FBI Special Agent Joseph Carrico made a direct plea to Hamlett and Jones stating that law enforcement considers him extremely dangerous and that although the victim knew Hamlett, Jones said the killing was not an isolated incident.
“Nic, let’s end this peacefully,” Carrico said.
“We will find you, no matter where you hide.”
Hamlett knows his victim
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office named Hamlett’s victim in an Oct. 4 Facebook post. Lloyd, 34, was friends with Hamlett, lured him to a wooded area on the Cherohala Skyway and killed him so Hamlett could steal his identity, the post said.
The post did not say how long the two had known each other, but said Lloyd, who is from Knoxville, had been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and was known to leave home and live on the streets.
“Steven’s mental health issues have impacted his living arrangements and his family continues to support and love him. … The family was shocked to learn that their beloved son’s life had been taken by someone Steven trusted,” the post read.
A violent past
Hamlett wanted by police in Alabama for parole violation. In 2009, he was charged with attempted murder in Alabama after police said he held a man at gunpoint and tried to hit him with a baseball bat with a plan to bury the man’s body in rural Elmore County, Alabama, according to court records.
Hamlett used an alias, Joshua Jones, to lure people to the park under the claims that he would sell them insurance, but Hamlett was held at gunpoint and walked into a nearby wooded area with a shallow grave. But the man resisted.
Although court records provide few details, Hamlett apparently got the worst of it. The victim called 911 after attacking Hamlett, knocking him unconscious. Hamlett had to be airlifted to a local hospital, where he fell into a coma.
Hamlett was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping, but took a lesser plea to felony assault, according to court records. He had four prior felonies and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Call 911, ‘run from the bear’
Knox News obtained a dispatch call from the fake fall Oct. 18. This was posted by post at 11:37 pm
“Units went to the Cherohala Skyway area on Falls Branch Road. Had a male subject who had fallen off a cliff. He was unable to move. He was running from a bear. He had a 2% battery – unable to return to 911.
“… en route in the area of Cherohala Skyway and Falls Branch Road. Cherohala Skyway and Falls Branch Road to help Turkey Creek. Called from Polk County. They advised that a male subject fell off a cliff while he was running away from a bear. He was unable to move his legs .Will hit his head. He will be in the waterfall…”
The 43-mile Cherohala Skyway runs through the Cherokee National Forest, which is federal land and into Robbinsville, North Carolina.
The investigation into Hamlett involves investigators from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the Knoxville Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the US Marshals Service, which includes a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest Hamlet’s.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tyler_whitstone.
This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel: South Carolina police arrest murder suspect wanted in bear 911 call
