Accused identity thief who called 911 and staged a fake bear attack arrested on suspicion of murder: authorities

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett was arrested in South Carolina on Sunday, November 10, in connection with the October 18 murder of Steven Douglas Lloyd in a complex case of identity theft

• The man police say killed Steven Douglas. Lloyd allegedly called 911 late on the night of Oct. 18 using a false name, claiming he was an injured hiker who had fallen off a cliff while fleeing a bear, according to a series of sheriff’s office news releases

• Police found a dead man with an ID that matched the name the caller gave

• That ID card — which belonged to neither the caller nor the dead man — led police to a murder investigation that crossed state lines

A man allegedly befriended another, lured him to a wooded area in Tennessee, killed him, stole his identity and then… Calling 911 with a fake name – Brandon Andrade – told police he was an injured hiker who fell off a cliff while fleeing a bear, according to a series of news releases from the sheriff’s office.

Law enforcement rushed to the location of the suspected injured hiker and found a dead man. But police later discovered that neither the dead man nor the 911 caller was Andrade, according to Monroe County Sheriff Tommy J. Jones II.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett “used an assumed name when speaking to law enforcement officers,” according to a news release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The 45-year-old Hamlett does arrested in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, Nov. 10, after he was recognized at a hospital there, the sheriff said. Hamlett is charged with first-degree murder in Monroe County, Tennessee, and parole violation in Alabama, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Hamlett’s true identity was verified by his fingerprints, according to police.

With the courts closed for Veterans Day, it was not immediately clear whether Hamlett had entered a plea or hired an attorney.

The Monroe County E-911 Center in Tennessee received the 911 call from a man claiming to be Andrade on Oct. 18 at 11:34 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

The caller claimed he was injured and partially submerged in water.

Law enforcement officials traced the call to the Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains, Tennessee. There they found a dead man with an ID in the name of Brandon Kristopher Andrade. The body was taken to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center.

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But during the course of their investigation, Monroe County police determined that the dead man was not Andrade and that the identification on his corpse had been stolen and used repeatedly, the sheriff’s office said.

By tracing the use of that identification, the police have a wanted poster for Hamlett, who they had determined had already fled his hometown in Tennessee.

Hamlett, whose list of aliases also included “Nic Hamlett,” had previously been indicted in Alabama on charges of attempted murder and parole violation, according to a wanted poster issued by the U.S. Marshals. (It was not immediately clear what the settlement of that previous case was.)

According to the wanted poster, he is said to have ties to Tennessee, Montana, Alaska, Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida and travel under aliases.

The body was later identified as that of a 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd of Knoxville, Tenn.

According to Monroe County Sheriff Jones, Lloyd grew up as a foster child who was later adopted. He “suffered from trust issues and had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder known as reactive attachment disorder,” Sheriff Jones said in a news release.

The disorder is “a rare but serious condition in which an infant or young child does not form a healthy bond with parents or caregivers,” according to the Mayo Clinicwhich identifies “unexplained withdrawal, anxiety, sadness, or irritability,” “failure to seek comfort or show no response when comfort is given,” and “failure to seek support or help” among the symptoms.

The disorder can continue into adulthood.

Lloyd would occasionally leave his home to live on the streets, while still staying in touch with his family, according to Sheriff Jones, who described him as a man who “loved the outdoors and was so helpful when it came to others ‘.

Sheriff Jones said Lloyd had trusted Hamlett, the two had become friends and he had been lured into the woods before Hamlett took “Steven’s life and his identity.”