Tampa suspect arrested in South Carolina city

TAMPA -- A man who police say attacked his wife and a neighbor last month in Tampa was arrested Saturday by South Carolina authorities.

James McCoy, 27, cut his wife's face with a butcher knife at their home on E Diana Street on May 18, police said. She was treated at a local hospital and released.

Hours later, McCoy attacked Gloria Dixon, a 64-year-old retired cemetery employee who had hired him in the past for yard work, Tampa police detectives said.

Dixon's throat was cut and she was badly beaten, police said. She was admitted to the hospital, initially in critical condition. She has since been released.

McCoy allegedly fled in Dixon's white Honda.

On Saturday morning, Myrtle Beach, S.C., police arrested McCoy as he was leaving a "fleabag motel," said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin.

Police there had been tipped that McCoy was in the area. They arrested him on two Tampa attempted murder warrants.

Durkin said that Dixon was notified of McCoy's arrest. She had been staying with friends since the attack because she was worried that McCoy would return and hurt her, he said.

McCoy is being held in the County Jail om Myrtle Beach awaiting an extradition hearing for his return to Tampa.

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