By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Master Sgt. William “Billy” Squires has been fired from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) as of 9 a.m. on Friday morning due to his actions on Sunday, Sept. 28, on Squiresgate Road on Hilton Head Island where he held four teenage boys at gunpoint.
Squires, who is a resident of the neighborhood, was off-duty at the time and had gone back into his home and put on a tactical BCSO vest and his service weapon over a dark shirt, shorts and slip on shoes.
During a press conference on Friday, Oct. 3, Sheriff P.J. Tanner revealed that Squires had also admitted to having consumed alcohol before his interaction with the boys.
Tanner said the sheriff’s office has requested that the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy revoke his state law enforcement certification.
This story will be updated.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
