BCSO: Three arrested in Beaufort on federal drug, firearm violation charges
Three men in the Burton area of Beaufort were arrested on federal charges related to drug distribution and weapons-related crimes Thursday morning.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service executed active arrest and search warrants on William Omar Heyward Jr., 44, of Burton, Christopher Andrew Copeland, 26, of Yemassee, and Ishmael Allen Rivers, 26, of Beaufort, according to Lt. Daniel Allen of the Sheriff’s Office.
All three of those arrested for these crimes also had outstanding federal warrants.
Two other Beaufort residents were arrested on outstanding local warrants and are currently being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
The operation began shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday. Initial appearances for the men arrested on federal charges were held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in a Charleston federal courtroom. After arraignment, according to court documents, all three men pleaded not guilty.
The single indictment details 14 different counts. In summary:
- Possession with intent to distribute various weights of methamphetamine, ranging from 5 grams to 50 or more grams.
- Use of a firearm to further a drug trafficking crime.
- Unlawful transport of firearms.
Possession of a firearm that had the importer’s and manufacturer’s serial numbers removed or altered.
- Possession and transfer of a combination of parts designed and intended to convert a weapon into a machine gun.
- Unlawful transfer of a firearm that was not registered in the National Firearms Registration or Transfer Record.
The actions that led to the charges occurred between November 2023 and May 2024, according to the indictment.
Although there are 14 different charges listed, each of the three men are not implicated in every charge.
Heyward was named in all 14 charges. He was also convicted previously in federal court for other drug and firearm-related felonies and served more than 12 months in prison, according to the indictment. Copeland is specifically named in two of the counts and Rivers is named in three.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
