Three sheriff's deputies in South Carolina have been arrested after they reported a dead body in what investigators said were hoax phone calls in four small towns.

The Chesterfield County deputies were charged Monday with misconduct in office, criminal conspiracy and aggravated breach of the peace, according to the warrants from the State Law Enforcement Division. The agency identified the deputies as Justin Tyler Reichard, 28, Darien Myles Roseau, 25, and Killian Daniel Loflin, 26.

Five phone calls reporting a dead body were made either to a convenience store or to police Feb. 4 in the small towns of Cheraw, Chesterfield, McBee and Pageland, which are all in Chesterfield County, investigators said.

In each case officers and other emergency workers responded until it was determined the reports were not true, the warrants said.

Investigators did not say why the phone calls were made or release any additional details.

Reichard, Roseau, and Loflin were booked at the Chesterfield County Detention Center. Court records did not indicate if the deputies had lawyers to speak on their behalf.

The Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office requested the SLED investigation, CBS affiliate WLTX reported.

A statement from state agents called the three men arrested "former deputies" but the sheriff's office didn't confirm they had been fired after saying they were suspended last week.

"Prank calls happen, but you don't expect it from cops," McBee resident Briana Davenport told WSOC-TV. "Because we're supposed to be calling them to help us out. I think it's messed up for it to happen like that."

Chesterfield County is about 75 miles northeast of Columbia. The county has more than 50 sworn officers in the sheriff's office protecting its 43,000 residents.

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• South Carolina