By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A 51-year-old Beaufort man was arrested on Halloween for allegedly shooting a firearm at a vehicle while minors and families were trick-or-treating in the Pigeon Point neighborhood on Woodward Avenue.
Paul Dominic Smith, who had only just moved into the rental home at 1109 Woodward Avenue a few days prior to the incident, was arrested and charged with 24 felony charges and three misdemeanors.
Smith faces 11 Assault & Battery of a High & Aggravated Nature charges, 11 Pointing and Presenting Firearms at a Person charges, a charge of Possession of Firearm or Ammunition by Person Convicted of Violent Felony, and one charge of Possession of a Weapon during a Violent Crime if not also sentenced to Life Without Parole.
All are felony charges, and he received a surety bond of $10,000 for each of the 24 charges, bringing the total bond to $240,000.
Additionally, he was charged with Public Drunk, Discharging Firearms Prohibited and Use of Firearm While Under Influence of Alcohol or Drugs, which are all misdemeanors. He received personal recognizance bonds for all three.
Smith has several previous felony convictions, including Reckless Homicide, Caused Injury from Vehicle in 2004 according to a background check that The Island News acquired from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Information provided to The Island News about the incident by the Beaufort Police Department was vague, with Community Affairs and Standards Specialist Lindsey Edwards disclosing the “altercation began over a vehicle speeding in the neighborhood, which led to a verbal argument and then escalated to shots being fired. No people were injured and there was no property damage reported.”
When asked how many people were involved Edwards responded with, “several,” and to the question asking if any of the people were minors who were trick-or-treating, she responded, “yes and yes.”
The Island News requested a copy of the incident report, redacted for private information, but did not receive a response to our request.
The Island News also put in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the incident report.
While the incident occurred on Friday night, there were no releases or alerts put out by the Beaufort Police Department. The department did not notifiy the public anything had happened until its routine release of incidents on the following Monday.
Concerned neighbors living in the Pigeon Point neighborhood seemed to share similar concerns, posting on social media asking why they were not made aware of the violent situation, why newspapers had not reported about it, and why there were no alerts sent out to the community letting them know to avoid the area, especially given that it was Halloween.
Smith is being evicted from the rental property into which he had just moved, according to Bundy Appraisal & Management, and his roommate has also been told to vacate the rental property.
Smith remains confined at the Beaufort County Detention Center and is scheduled to have his first appearance for the misdemeanor charges on Dec. 4 and for the felony charges on Dec. 12.
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.
