Suspects ‘held gun to victim’s head’ before taking pistol, cash on Lady’s Island

Two men were charged with armed robbery Thursday afternoon after they allegedly held a man at gunpoint inside his truck on Lady’s Island.

Matthew Hawkins, 18, of Lady’s Island, and Joshua Washington, 19, of St. Helena Island, were charged with armed robbery after the victim reported he’d been robbed on Gay Drive around 1:45 p.m., according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies met the victim at the Lady’s Island Walmart. He initially told then a “partial story” about the robbery, the report said. After deputies told the man that it is not illegal to purchase drugs, only to possess them, the man “decided to tell the truth” about the incident, the report said.

The man said he went to a residence on Gay Drive to meet with a man. When he arrived, the victim said three males got into his Nissan pickup truck. Two of the males entered through the front door and the man said he knew them from school.

One of the men, he said, was Hawkins, and the other was a juvenile whose name was redacted from the report. The third man, identified by the victim as Washington, sat in the back seat and held what the man thought was a Glock with an extended magazine to the victim’s head.

“(The victim) stated that Washington held the gun to his head from the back seat while (the juvenile) and Hawkins went through the center console of the truck and (the victim’s) backpack,” the report said.

The three took the victim’s father’s Taurus 1911 .45 semi-automatic pistol from the console and around $100 from the backpack before they ran away. While a deputy spoke to the victim, Hawkins, Washington and the juvenile were found and detained. The victim identified the three to deputies. The stolen pistol was recovered, the report said.

Hawkins and Washington were taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center where they await bond hearings, according to detention center records.

Capt. Bob Bromage of the Sheriff’s Office said Friday that the juvenile has not yet been charged as the investigation continues.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Suspects ‘held gun to victim’s head’ before taking pistol, cash on Lady’s Island."