North Charleston man arrested in connection with late-morning Beaufort bank robbery, police say

A North Charleston man was arrested Wednesday morning on St. Helena Island in connection with a bank robbery that happened Tuesday on Boundary Street, according to a Beaufort City Police Department news release.

Around 11:15 a.m., Bernard Gadson, 58, allegedly entered the South State Bank, walked up to the service counter and handed a note to the bank teller as he issued a verbal threat as well, the release said.

He ran from the bank after the teller gave him an “undisclosed amount of money,” according to the release.

The FBI helped with the investigation.

On Monday, at 1:50 a.m., a different suspect who was armed with a gun robbed the Quality Inn on Boundary Street, an earlier release from the police department said.

The suspect, a black male described as 5-foot-7 with a “slender build,” entered the hotel and demanded money from the clerk before running from the business, the release said. The man was not found.

At the time of the alleged crime, the suspect was wearing an orange beanie, a white cloth around his face, and a black and white shirt with an orange colored “70” on the left chest, right arm and back, the release said.

The two robberies do not appear to be connected, a spokesperson with the Beaufort Police told The Island Packet on Tuesday afternoon.

This story was originally published April 16, 2019 at 2:30 PM.