Police make arrest in Beaufort fast food robbery

Police arrested a man they say is responsible for robbing a Beaufort fast food restaurant earlier this month.

Brandon Lee Simmons, 32, was arrested early Friday morning after police from Beaufort, Port Royal and a Beaufort County SWAT team served a warrant on his Southside Boulevard apartment, a Beaufort Police Department release said. Simmons is charged with armed robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to police.

He was booked into Beaufort County Detention Center just before 6:30 a.m. and remains jailed on a $50,000 bond on the robbery charge and $25,000 bond for each of the weapons charges, according to the jail log.

Simmons was seen on surveillance video holding a gun and demanding money from employees at Burger King on Ribaut Road on June 3, police said in the release. He was identified after police posted a video of the incident to their Facebook page.

Police found a gun and small amount of marijuana while searching Simmons’ apartment.

Police didn’t say whether Simmons is also a suspect in a similar armed robbery at the same business on June 11. A phone message and emails seeking additional information from police were not returned as of late Friday afternoon.