Beaufort Liquidation owner found not guilty for big cat display

Beaufort Liquidation owner Jeff Lowe was found not guilty Thursday of violating zoning rules by displaying lions and tigers at his business.

A jury of four men and two women deliberated for about an hour Thursday before returning the verdict.

Beaufort County had accused Lowe on April 6 of violating his permit for indoor retail sales by displaying lions and tigers two days earlier at his flea market and liquidation store.

The verdict marked the end of a months-long dispute with the county over the large cats Lowe has kept at his business on Parker Drive near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Burton.

Lowe still faces a zoning violation for holding outdoor sales in June. But that case does not involve the display of animals, assistant county attorney Allison Coppage said. Lowe was tried in absentia, but his attorney, Thomas Goldstein of Charleston, has appealed the verdict.

Goldstein said before Thursday's trial that the "county had already won" because Lowe was moving to Colorado. He said Lowe was driven out by the county's heavy handed regulations, which hurt his business.

But Lowe said after the trial he likely will still have a presence in Beaufort after his move. He said he had driven 37 hours from Colorado to attend Thursday's proceedings.

Lowe had initially intended to move almost 150 animals from a sanctuary he had purchased in Colorado to Beaufort. He said he now plans to move west, opening a zoo, drive-in theater, and store there.

Beaufort County called two witnesses during the daylong trial: zoning administrator Hillary Austin and codes enforcement director Audra Antonacci.

Under the permit issued to Lowe in January, the only use permitted at his business was indoor retail sales, and zoos are not a permitted use in that area, Austin testified.

Antonacci said she inspected Lowe's business April 4 and saw a line of people waiting to enter an enclosure with at least one tiger inside.

Goldstein argued the county hadn't produced any evidence that Lowe was operating a zoo on his property. Instead, he said, the zoning violation was issued to Lowe because of his earlier clashes with the county.

"This whole thing is political," he said. "It's been political since day one."

Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Beaufort Liquidation owner found not guilty for big cat display."