A teen was pulled over for an improper lane change. Police also found a stolen gun.

An improper lane changed helped Bluffton Police and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office restore stolen firearms to their proper owner, the stepfather of the driver’s friend.

Three firearms were reported stolen Thursday by a Bluffton man, who told Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies they had disappeared from a gun cabinet in his Edgefield home.

The three firearms included a 3030 lever-action rifle valued at an estimated $300; a 12-gauge shotgun valued at $200 and a .22-caliber Colt revolver valued at $1,200.

The man’s teen-age stepdaughter had invited friends to the house Thursday, according to the report. She reported that sometime after 10:30 p.m., a male friend entered her parents’ bedroom for a “short period of time.” When he left the bedroom, the girl said she saw nothing in his possession.

After the friend left around 11:30 p.m., the girl said she entered her parents’ room. She said she saw the gun cabinet was open and firearms were missing.

The next day, a Bluffton Police Department officer pulled over a vehicle for an improper lane change and defective equipment. The driver of the car had with him a .22-caliber Cold revolver identified by a Sheriff’s Office deputy as the revolver stolen the day before. The driver was identified as the same person the girl said had been in her parents’ bedroom, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

The driver was arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm.

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 5:35 PM with the headline "A teen was pulled over for an improper lane change. Police also found a stolen gun.."