Report: A Bluffton man ‘passed out’ at his workplace — then got arrested. Here’s why

A man reported to be “passed out” in his car in a Bluffton gas station parking lot awoke to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy knocking on his window with a flashlight.

He ended the night with an arrest.

And then he had to call his manager and explain why he was so “tired” on the job.

The deputy responded to the Circle K on Fording Island Road around 1 a.m. Friday, according to his report. He’d been called by a manager at a different Circle K to perform a “health and welfare check” on the man, who witnesses say had been asleep in a red sedan for almost an hour, and who the report lists as the station’s “attendant.”

The deputy could see the man was breathing and knocked on the window with a flashlight. The man awoke and opened the door. When he did so, the officer noticed a strong odor of marijuana.

The man said he was OK, just “tired,” according to the report. And he admitted that he’d been smoking marijuana and that there was more in the car.

The deputy found a small bag of marijuana and placed the man under arrest for simple possession.

But he was released and issued a ticket.

And he “contacted his manager and informed her of the situation.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Report: A Bluffton man ‘passed out’ at his workplace — then got arrested. Here’s why."