Deputies: St. Helena Island man, ‘not steady on his feet’, threw steak knife at us, twice

A 48-year-old St. Helena Island man was arrested Tuesday night after a brief standoff with Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Deputies were called to the Benchmark Circle home around 10 p.m. in response to a 911 call regarding domestic violence, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. An adult female met deputies in the front yard with a bruise and swelling under her left eye. The man yelled to deputies from the front door of the trailer that he would not come out to speak with them, they wrote.

The man said deputies were not allowed in his home and if they wanted to talk to him they would have to “come in and get him,” according to the report. With an 8-inch steak knife in hand, the man invited the deputies to shoot or Tase him. According to their report, when the deputies got to the doorway with their pistols drawn, the man threw the knife toward the front door, retrieved it and threw it again. Eventually, one of the deputies got control of the knife.

The report said the man was “not steady on his feet” and “could not complete full sentences.” He was arrested and told deputies his argument with the woman wasn’t physical.

The man ultimately was charged with third degree domestic violence, a misdemeanor, and remained at the Beaufort County Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon with bond set at $5,237.50, according to online detention center records.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Deputies: St. Helena Island man, ‘not steady on his feet’, threw steak knife at us, twice."