For nine months he has been on the run from the law but after a Thursday manhunt in Chappells a teen wanted for armed robbery is behind bars.

Manuel Eugene Cunningham Jr., 19, of 114 Dougherty Drive, Cross Hill, was arrested just after noon yesterday.

Police say that Cunningham’s most recent crime spree began around 6:30 a.m. yesterday when he went to a home on Milner Road, off Island Ford Road in Chappells.

The homeowner told deputies that he heard a knock at the door, and then at the window, before his back door was kicked in. The homeowner shouted, he reports, as the potential home invader ran and the homeowner fetched his gun.

The homeowner then shot twice towards the woods where the man had run.

While investigating the attempted home invasion, investigators discovered Cunningham’s bicycle, his jacket and a cell phone left behind.

Officers from the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, Newberry Police Department, and Clinton Public Safety launched a large manhunt for the suspect after he fled from an Newberry County investigator when spotted shortly after 9:30 a.m. yesterday.

“The officers were able to contain the suspect into a wooded area because of the law enforcement presence in the area and the additional coverage of the SLED helicopter,“ said Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster.

When SLED bloodhounds arrived on scene, the dogs and officers from the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office began tracking the suspect.

The trail led officers to an abandoned house less than a mile away from the attempted home invasion. Cunningham was found hiding under bales of hay.

Cunningham jumped from the hay and attempted to run from the officers; however, they were able to capture him after a short distance, described Foster.

“The fact that so many officers were able to respond to the area in their patrol vehicles, and the SLED helicopter provided air support allowed us to contain the suspect in a small area,“ said Foster. “Because of this containment, the bloodhounds were able to quickly track the suspect and take him into custody.“

Cunningham is also accused, along with two others, of holding up The Homestore on Popular Street in the Lydia Mill section of Clinton on Oct. 24, 2008.

The thieves entered the store wearing bandannas around their faces, holding guns and demanding money.

The next night, a group robbed Zee’s Convenience Store on West Main Street in Clinton, according to Clinton Public Safety Lt. Tyrone Goggins. Police say the members were the same.

Goggins said Clinton officers had the other two suspects in custody when Cunningham began running from the law to avoid charges.

Cunningham spent almost a year, since October 2008, staying at different places in Newberry, Greenwood and Cross Hill, officers say.

No weapon was located during the search and arrest of the suspect.

Clinton police are charging Cunningham with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime.