Man arrested after trying to rob woman at knifepoint at Little River store, report says

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A Loris man was arrested Wednesday by Horry County police after allegedly trying to rob a woman at knifepoint in August at a store in Little River, according to police records.

Travis Josiah Bromell is charged with attempted armed robbery. He is being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Officers were dispatched on Aug. 20 to the Phoenix Mart in the 1700 block of Highway 17 about an attempted armed robbery and were told by the woman that the suspect, who she identified as Bromell, was dressed in a black t-shirt, black shorts, black socks with no shoes, a thin stocking over his face, and a black t-shirt wrapped around his head.

Bromell approached the woman who was in front of the front counter and told her “I need money,” the report said. She said she told him that she did not have any money.

Bromell then circled behind the woman, and the woman noticed that he had a black-handled knife with an approximately five-inch blade in his hand, according to the report. The woman was able to escape by running behind the front counter and into a storage room but dropped a cellphone near the front counter.

The report said Bromell followed the woman to the storage room with the knife in his hand. He tried to get into the room but couldn’t because she held the door shut.

The woman told officers that a bell on the front door rang, which meant that the suspect had left the store. The woman then told police they waited a few moments to be sure Bromell was gone before retrieving the cellphone, the report said.

Bromell did not gain anything of monetary value during the robbery attempt, the report said.