Beaufort County firefighter wanted on charges of soliciting sex from 13-year-old via Snapchat
This story was updated on December 4, 2020 to include a statement from the Burton Fire District.
A Burton Fire District firefighter who was accused of using a chokehold on Trey Pringle, a Black man who would later die after an altercation with police in February 2018, is wanted on charges of soliciting sex from a minor.
The Beaufort Police Department obtained warrants on Wednesday to charge Brandon Cory Thomsen, 46, of Beaufort, with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of disseminating obscene material to a person under 18, according to Capt. George Erdel.
On Nov. 29, a woman reported to Beaufort Police that Thomsen was making unwanted sexual advances to her 13-year-old daughter through her cell phone, according to a news release.
Investigators said they found evidence Thomsen sent sexually explicit messages to the woman’s daughter on Snapchat.
Erdel said that Thomsen is wanted, and anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts should contact Sgt. Stephanie Karafa at 843-322-7914.
In a statement on Friday morning, the Burton Fire District said “upon notification of the warrants, Brandon Thomsen was placed on immediate suspension.”
Involvement in Trey Pringle case
The Burton firefighter previously took part in arresting Trey Pringle, who later died, and he was named in a personal injury lawsuit brought by Pringle’s family.
Pringle, 24, of Seabrook died three days after the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Burton Fire District responded to his family’s home on Feb. 17, 2018.
In a news conference declining to press any criminal charges against police and fire officials, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said Pringle had a history mental illness that included hospitalizations.
Stone said he was “exhibiting unusual behavior” while watching TV with his family. The two agencies were called to help.
He was being uncooperative with deputy commands and appeared to be bleeding, Stone said. Deputies attempted to handcuff Pringle twice when he fought back, hitting a deputy in the face and kicking him in the knee.
On the second attempt to handcuff him, Thomsen from the Burton Fire District helped the Sheriff’s Office deputies. The deputies tased Pringle three times.
Thomsen “employed some sort of a headlock” that brought Pringle to the floor, the lawsuit states.
Deputies on scene saw Thomsen on top of Pringle, and one of the deputies who held Pringle said he saw that Thomsen “’administered a hold’ to Trey Pringle’s head and neck,” according to a report from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
Thomsen told SLED he never applied a chokehold to Pringle nor put any body part on Pringle’s neck.
An autopsy determined Pringle died during “restraint in a prone position with chest compression,” Stone said.
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 5:26 PM.
