2 arrested for unlawfully carrying firearms in downtown Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Police arrested two people for unlawfully carrying firearms in separate incidents along King Street in downtown Charleston over the weekend.

The first arrest took place just before midnight on September 4^th. Officers on patrol observed a man who they said appeared to be heavily intoxicated “stumbling northbound on the sidewalk” along King Street, according to a report from the Charleston Police Department (CPD).

While asking the man where he was headed, one of the officers observed what he described as the “distinct outline of what appeared to be a handgun” inside a red satchel draped across the man’s chest.

The man, identified as 30-year-old Donovan Williams, was taken into custody. Police said they located a black Glock P80 9MM during a search, of which he did not have a valid South Carolina concealed weapons permit and the serial number on the handgun had been obliterated.

In addition to public intoxication, officers also charged Williams with unlawful carry of a handgun and possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number.

The report also noted that Williams had been involved in a disturbance with another person while at Sultan’s on King Street several hours earlier.

A short time later, officers patrolling along King Street received a call just after 1:00 a.m. regarding a man flashing a firearm near Ink.

That man, later identified as Shaquan Shelton, 31, was seen walking along King Street. During their investigation, officers observed the gun’s handle sticking out of his front left pocket, which turned out to be a Taurus Millennium handgun.

The man told officers that he did have a concealed weapons permit out of Georgia, but had left it in Georgia. “The offender claimed he assumed the state laws between South Carolina and Georgia were the same,” police said in their report.

Officers were unable to verify the man’s CWP. He was taken into custody for unlawful carry of a handgun and taken to the Al Cannon Detention Center.