Deputies seized Timothy Garvin III’s firearm despite valid SLED-issued concealed weapons permit
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A Beaufort County man is questioning the actions of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) after deputies seized his firearm during a Sept. 16 traffic stop, telling him he was federally prohibited from possessing a gun despite having a concealed weapons permit issued by the state less than four months earlier, even though you can legally conceal carry in South Carolina without one.
Seven days later, BCSO gave the gun back.
Exactly why deputies initially determined Timothy Garvin III was federally prohibited from possessing a firearm, and what changed between Sept. 16 and Sept. 23, remains unclear.
The portions of the BCSO incident report that could provide those answers are almost entirely redacted, and the Sheriff’s Office declined to answer questions from The Island News, saying it could not comment because the case remains an active investigation.
Recordings of the traffic stop provided to The Island News, however, capture deputies explaining to Garvin why his firearm was being seized.
“You are federally prohibited from owning a firearm,” a deputy told Garvin during the stop, explaining that state and federal requirements differ.
Garvin protested, pointing out that he had a South Carolina concealed weapons permit and had purchased firearms legally.
The gun was taken anyway.
A traffic stop becomes a search
According to the BCSO incident report, deputies conducted the traffic stop at approximately 9:07 a.m. Sept. 16 at 12 Savannah Highway, the Parker’s near Shell Point.
PFC Colin Greene is identified as the responsible officer. Five additional responding officers are listed in the report.
The report says deputies subsequently arrested the driver for habitual traffic offender. Garvin was a passenger.
Garvin does not dispute that the driver had broken the law or that deputies had grounds to address those violations. During his interview with The Island News, he openly acknowledged the driver’s violations.
His concerns center on what happened to him afterward.
During a recorded conversation at the scene, another deputy explained to Garvin that Greene had run the vehicle’s tag and that it returned showing no insurance. The deputy said Greene also reported smelling what he believed to be marijuana and alcohol.
Deputies searched the vehicle.
Garvin repeatedly asked whether deputies had found drugs or alcohol during the search. A deputy told him that smelling marijuana or alcohol provided probable cause to search the vehicle and that deputies did not have to ultimately find either substance.
Garvin told The Island News that no drugs or alcohol were found in the vehicle or his backpack.
Garvin said he provided deputies with his identification and concealed weapons permit and voluntarily disclosed that he had a firearm inside his backpack.
The recording from the stop supports that account. Garvin can be heard explaining that he voluntarily disclosed the firearm before his backpack was searched.
He questioned why he was being disarmed and why his backpack was searched when he was a passenger in the vehicle.
The BCSO report lists six responding officers at the scene.
‘You are federally prohibited’
What happened after deputies found the firearm is at the center of Garvin’s complaint.
During the recorded encounter, a deputy acknowledged Garvin’s concealed weapons permit but told him a criminal history check showed something different at the federal level.
The deputy explained that although Garvin was not prohibited under state law, he was federally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. The deputy said the gun would have to be seized and the issue would be left to federal authorities.
Garvin immediately challenged the determination.
He told deputies he had recently received his CWP and that he purchased his firearms through licensed dealers.
“Why was I never aware of this?” Garvin asked after being told he was federally prohibited.
The deputy responded that he could not explain it and that it was a question for someone else.
BCSO seized the firearm.
Garvin had prior weapons conviction
Garvin does have a prior weapons conviction in Beaufort County, according to court records reviewed by The Island News.
He was arrested March 1, 2021, and pleaded guilty Feb. 24, 2022, in Beaufort County General Sessions Court to unlawful carrying of a pistol.
The Beaufort County Public Index shows he received a one-day sentence, with credit for time served.
At the time of Garvin’s offense, unlawful carrying of a handgun under South Carolina Code Section 16-23-20 was a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison.
That distinction matters because a prior conviction does not automatically make someone federally prohibited from possessing a firearm. Federal law includes several categories of prohibited persons, including those convicted of offenses punishable by more than one year in prison, along with other categories unrelated to felony convictions.
The records reviewed by The Island News do not establish which, if any, federal prohibition BCSO believed applied to Garvin on Sept. 16.
More than four years after his 2021 arrest, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division issued Garvin a concealed weapons permit.
A copy of the permit provided to The Island News shows it was issued May 20, 2026, and expires May 20, 2031.
Less than four months later, a BCSO deputy told Garvin he was federally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Garvin started making calls
Garvin told The Island News that after the traffic stop he contacted both SLED and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives because he did not believe the information deputies had given him was correct.
Garvin said he was told his CWP remained active and that he was not prohibited from possessing the firearm.
He then contacted a BCSO supervisor.
According to Garvin, the supervisor told him Greene had discovered that a mistake had been made and that there had been an issue with information in the federal system.
Garvin said he was also told Greene conducted additional research after the traffic stop and learned of the problem that same day.
BCSO has not independently confirmed that explanation to The Island News.
Seven days later, BCSO returns gun
A BCSO Evidence Section property receipt provided to The Island News confirms that the Sheriff’s Office returned Garvin’s firearm on Sept. 23.
The receipt bears the same case number as the traffic stop and identifies the property returned as a Pioneer Arms Hellpup firearm and three magazines.
That was seven days after the traffic stop. The receipt does not explain why the firearm was returned.
Garvin said he also sought documentation explaining what had happened.
“They didn’t even provide me with a case number until after I came to pick my gun up,” Garvin told The Island News.
A separate recording made when Garvin retrieved the firearm captures him asking how he could obtain an incident report. He was told he could request it using the case number.
Garvin ultimately obtained a copy.
It provides few answers.
Report completed day of the stop; narrative redacted
The BCSO incident report confirms the date, time and location of the traffic stop, identifies the responding deputies and says the driver was arrested for habitual traffic offenses. Garvin does not challenge that arrest.
What the publicly released report does not explain is what happened next to Garvin.
After a short paragraph describing the traffic stop and the driver’s arrest, the substantive portions of the narrative are blacked out.
The fourth and final page is almost entirely covered by a large black redaction.
One sentence remains visible at the bottom:
“This report was completed on September 16, 2026, by PFC Colin Greene.”
The report also indicates that multiple deputies used body-worn cameras during the encounter.
Garvin told The Island News that when he initially sought the incident report, he was told it had not been completed. He said the document he eventually received was heavily redacted and did not explain why his firearm had been seized.
The date printed on the report, however, states it was completed Sept. 16, the same day as the traffic stop.
BCSO cites active investigation
The Island News sent BCSO questions seeking an explanation for why Garvin was identified as federally prohibited from possessing a firearm, what information produced that determination, when deputies learned the determination may have been incorrect and why the firearm was ultimately returned.
The Sheriff’s Office did not answer the questions, saying it was unable to provide answers regarding the case because it remains an active investigation.
That leaves several key questions unanswered.
BCSO has not explained what information led a deputy to tell Garvin he was federally prohibited, whether that information was subsequently determined to be inaccurate, what specifically remains under investigation or why the agency returned the firearm seven days after seizing it.
The publicly released incident report provides no explanation because the portions addressing what happened after the initial stop are redacted.
Garvin said the experience has left him frustrated because he believes he did what gun owners are supposed to do. He purchased his firearm legally, obtained a concealed weapons permit and voluntarily disclosed the firearm to deputies during the traffic stop.
He said the experience was particularly troubling because he has tried to encourage younger people in his community to stay out of trouble and follow the law.
“With me having been in the right and with them doing what they did, it made me question myself,” Garvin told The Island News. “What am I supposed to tell these kids now?”
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.