Hartsville police identify Coker University armed robbery suspect

Dennis Bright
·1 min read

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (WBTW) — Hartsville police took a man into custody Monday morning after an overnight armed robbery of a student on the Coker University campus, authorities said.

Christian Odom was found with the student’s stolen property and the gun allegedly used int the robbery when he was arrested at about 8:10 a.m., Hartsville police said. He faces multiple charges, including armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, unlawful carrying of a weapon by a felon, several counts of auto-breaking and possession of stolen property.

At the time of his arrest, police said Odam was also wanted on a probation violation. Odom was taken to the Darlington County Detention Center, and more charges are possible, according to police.

The robbery happened at about 2 a.m. and led to precautionary lockdowns at the university and the nearby Governor’s School of Science and Math, Hartsville police said. The lockdown order was lifted following the arrest.

Police said the unarmed student was robbed at gunpoint in a parking lot adjacent to the 300 block of East College Avenue. Odom is also alleged to have broken into multiple vehicles in the area, police said.

The university said the student was not hurt in the robbery and “directly reported the incident to Campus Safety,” who responded immediately along with Hartsville police. Police used a K-9 while searching around the campus “throughout the early morning hours” for the suspect, who was believed to still be armed.

The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Hartsville police or the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office at 843-383-3011.

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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.

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