HHI convict wanted for shooting woman in head arrested in GA, ending 3-month manhunt
Hilton Head man Bernard Garvin, 31, accused of shooting a woman in the head in June was arrested in Georgia and transported Friday afternoon to Beaufort County. The shooting occurred in the parking lot of Hilton Head Gardens apartments, an apartment complex at the center of multiple lawsuits involving the property’s proximity to violent crime.
The 32-year-old shooting victim, Ashley Thomas, sued Hilton Head Gardens apartments in mid-August, claiming the “high-crime” complex failed to prevent numerous violent incidents by means of adequate security measures, a lack of working surveillance cameras and a failure to warn residents about the property’s history of crime. The lawsuit is pending in Beaufort County civil court.
Beaufort County investigators say Garvin shot the woman once in the head around 8:30 p.m. on June 9, after she attempted to intervene in his argument with another woman in the apartments’ parking lot. He also fired several shots at a nearby vehicle and pointed his gun at another person before fleeing, according to the Friday afternoon alert from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Garvin was arrested Sept. 26 in Stockbridge, GA by police from several local agencies. He faces charges of attempted murder, pointing and presenting firearms and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, jail records show.
Garvin was in custody as of 5 p.m. Friday at the Beaufort County Detention Center, where he awaits a bond hearing.
This story was originally published September 30, 2023 at 5:38 AM.
