U.S. Marshals in South Carolina Arrest Man Suspected of Murder in Tennessee

Columbia, SC - The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF), working with the FBI, the Monroe County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office and the Columbia Police Department arrested at a hospital in Columbia Nov. 10 a man wanted for the Oct. 18 killing of a man in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, also wanted on a parole violation out of Alabama, had been using the identification stolen from a man he is suspected of killing before calling 911, pretending to be a distressed hiker named Brandon Andrade who had been attacked by a bear and fallen from a cliff in the mountains of Tennessee. 

Investigators who discovered the body with Andrade’s ID determined the injuries sustained were inconsistent with a bear attack or a fall, and instead determined cause of death as blunt-force trauma to the head. They also discovered Andrade’s ID had been stolen by Hamlett and used multiple times.

A first-degree murder warrant was issued for Hamlett, who authorities said had befriended the deceased man during the summer.

Hamlett was found unconscious on the side of the road over the weekend and taken to a local hospital suffering from dehydration. A hospital worker identified Hamlett from a wanted poster and notified police.

Hamlett will be extradited to Tennessee to face the charges against him.

The USMS CRFTF began operations in January 2018. The CRFTF has partnership agreements with four federal and 68 state and local agencies; and operates in South Carolina and North Carolina. The CRFTF has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer.

U.S. Marshals task forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. Dedicated to reducing violent crime by locating and apprehending wanted criminals, they also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters. Task force officers are state and local police officers who receive special deputations with the Marshals. While on a task force, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines.