Arrests made in Old Town; one related to Friday homicide

Two arrests were made at a residence on Bruin Road on Wednesday morning, one of them in connection to the shooting death of a Bluffton man Friday night.

According to Bluffton Police Department spokesperson Joy Nelson, Ricky Blake, 35, of Bluffton, was taken into custody after the warrant was served at 29 Bruin Road by the department’s Strategic Response Team.

Details of how Blake was tied to the homicide investigation have yet to be released.

However, he was charged with accessory to murder after the fact and accessory to attempted murder after the fact, according to the Bluffton Police Department news release.

Blake has also been charged with charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin within a half mile of a school, cocaine and heroin possession and simple marijuana possession.

He is being held at detention center.

Brian Mitchell, 28, was also arrested after the response team found several narcotics inside the home.

He was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine within half a mile of a school, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana within half a mile of a school, trafficking methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within half a mile of a school and possession of two controlled substances .

Investigators found 63.1 grams of marijuana, 14 grams of methamphetamine, 11.8 grams of cocaine, 1.5 grams of heroin and $495 in cash inside the residence, the release said.

The warrants were tied to the investigation into the death of 21-year-old Roy Leon Hamilton, who died Friday night around 11:40 p.m. after shots rang out on in the area of Shultz and Goethe roads in Bluffton. Deonte Stevenson was also injured and flown to a nearby hospital after suffering a gunshot wound, Nelson said Monday.

Thomas Bush, 29, was charged with murder and attempted murder following the incident, according to a Bluffton Police Department news release.

He is being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center.

Nelson said the homicide investigation is ongoing and additional arrests may be made.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Arrests made in Old Town; one related to Friday homicide."