Bluffton man shot by deputy in May domestic violence incident faces two charges
A Bluffton man shot by a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy in May has been released from the hospital and charged after police say he tried to attack the officer with a metal pipe.
Jose Robles, 45, was charged Monday with assault and battery in the first degree and domestic violence in the second degree, according to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
The incident happened May 10 when the deputy was dispatched to the Shady Glen Mobile Home Park in Bluffton about 3:20 a.m. in response to a disturbance call.
Robles’ girlfriend “was found to have been slapped, bitten, chased with a metal pipe by the defendant, her longtime boyfriend, in the presence of their minor child,” according to an arrest warrant released by SLED.
After a deputy arrived, Robles approached him “while offering to strike him with the metal pipe,” the warrant said.
The deputy, Corporal David Swinehamer then fired his service weapon at Robles. An internal review by the Sheriff’s Office found that Swinehamer acted “within policy” in the shooting and he has since returned to duty, Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage said Wednesday.
Robles was sent to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah for treatment. He was released on Monday, charged and subsequently booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center, according to SLED.
Robles is free after posting two $10,000 bonds, according to court records.
SLED continues to investigate the shooting, standard protocol when an officer fires his or her weapon.
“Information gathered in the SLED investigation of the incident will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors,” said a press release from the agency.
Once that report is finished, the case will be turned over to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for prosecution.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
