Man wanted in Lancaster, Charlotte killings caught in Rock Hill, police say
A fugitive from Lancaster wanted for murder in both South Carolina and North Carolina has been caught in Rock Hill, police said.
Derrick Allen McIlwain, 41, was captured Tuesday evening, according to the Rock Hill Police Department and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
McIlwain had been sought for months by Lancaster deputies and State Law Enforcement Division agents before he was charged with a Ballantyne homicide in Charlotte, police said.
McIlwain has been wanted since late May in Lancaster County for the death of Kimberly Beth Alger, 36, said Doug Barfield, spokesperson for Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
Alger’s body was found May 28 outside a vacant home on Spirit Road in southern Lancaster County near Heath Springs, said Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile and Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight Deese. Alger was McIlwain’s girlfriend, police said.
North Carolina law enforcement also had a murder warrant against McIlwain for the Nov. 7 killing of Alvin Fletcher in Ballantyne, according to CMPD. Fletcher died after an attack in a Ballantyne townhome, CMPD said.
It remains unclear when McIlwain will be extradited to North Carolina to be served the murder warrant in the Ballantyne case. He is being held without bail in the York County jail, officials said.
McIlwain was taken into custody by Rock Hill and Charlotte police with help from SLED agents and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, officials said. Special violent crime apprehension units with both CMPD and Rock Hill police were involved in the arrest, officials said.
The search for McIlwain since the Lancaster killing included a segment on the A&E television show “Live PD.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 8:59 AM.
