SC deputy shot while executing search warrant

A Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputy who was shot in the shoulder early Wednesday morning while executing a search warrant on Lady's Island is recovering, according to a news release.

The Sheriff's Office was executing a search warrant at 58 Westminster Place in the Royal Pines subdivision when shots were fired and the deputy wounded.

Tray Jabari Graves, 28, has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting, according to the Beaufort County Detention Center log.

The Sheriff's Office news release included few other details. Capt. Bob Bromage said the deputy had been treated and released, and that more details would be available later today.

Graves was arrested for cocaine possession in Hampton County in 2006, according to S.C. Law Enforcement Division criminal records. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to two years probation. Graves also had charges for driving with a suspended license and misdemeanor accessory to a felony in Hampton County on his criminal record, but neither charge resulted in jail time or probation.

A neighborhood resident said the incident began around 6:30 a.m. He said there were U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI agents, as well as about 20 sheriff's deputies, on the scene.

Sheriff's deputies and DEA agents from the Charleston Task Force remained on scene for several hours Wednesday morning. A member of the Sheriff's Office drug unit told five other residents of the home the search had been completed around 11 a.m. All of the residents declined to comment and left the area after speaking with authorities.

Neighbors on the circle tucked in the back of Royal Pines were shocked to see the law enforcement presence on their quiet street. Alex Snell, who lives a few doors down from the raided home, said she had never experienced anything like it in her 14 years in Royal Pines.

"We never get this kind of excitement," she said. "It's a big shock. The house is really quiet. Seldom do we see someone coming and going."

Snell and other neighbors on the street said they heard no gunshots, but opened their doors to find crime scene tape and law enforcement out on the street. Snell said her daughter alerted her to the scene after she left for work around 7 a.m.

Snell said one of her dogs -- a rescue named Brody she adopted three weeks ago -- likely heard the shots from her yard and ran to her door. Snell said the dog began to bark and had tried to hide after re-entering the home.

Another neighbor, Nicole Bogdan, said she was shocked to see authorities down the street when she opened her garage to walk her dog around 7 a.m.. She said the people renting the home were rarely seen, and there was little traffic to the address.

Snell said the blinds were almost always drawn in the home. Other neighbors said they rarely saw the home's residents outside. No one was sure when Graves moved into the home.

One neighbor who asked not to be named said Graves worked in landscaping and had helped fix a small palm tree in his yard. The neighbor and others on the street said Graves and the other residents left for work around dawn most days and were noticeable from the speed and noise that came from the cars when they exited.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. The S.C. Law Enforcement Division will assist, the release said.

This story was originally published June 17, 2015 at 3:28 PM with the headline "SC deputy shot while executing search warrant."