Home invaders allegedly held residents at gunpoint in Beaufort Co. One arrested
Police arrested one person after a group of gunmen allegedly entered an occupied home and held its residents at gunpoint in a brazen burglary Tuesday afternoon, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Kaden Jeremiah Williams, 19, of Ridgeland, was charged Tuesday evening with first-degree burglary and probation violation, inmate records show.
Family members were home around 2:40 p.m. Tuesday when the group of armed suspects entered the unlocked residence on Whites Drive, off Laurel Bay Road in the area of the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Daniel Allen.
Williams’ arrest warrant says he was part of the group that walked inside, “pointed firearms at several residents” and stole property from the home. However, according to Allen, police believe Williams did not enter the residence but still took part in carrying out the crime.
“It’s safe to say there will be other charges pending,” Allen said of the investigation.
Suspect was on probation
Police later found several of the stolen items inside Williams’ home and vehicle, according to his arrest warrant.
Allen said he was not aware of any injuries reported during the burglary. He would not comment on what was stolen from the family.
Inmate rosters show Williams remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Thursday afternoon.
Williams was previously arrested in late December, when Beaufort police charged him with felony domestic violence, according to court records. He was also sentenced to three months in prison and two years of probation in August after pleading guilty to 2024 charges of fleeing police and violating the guidelines of his learner’s permit, court records show.
First-degree burglary is a felony punishable by a minimum of 15 years to life in prison under South Carolina law.
It was unclear if the home invasion was a random occurrence or if the victims knew the intruders.
Other burglaries in Hilton Head area
Tuesday afternoon’s case was one of several reported burglaries across Beaufort County in recent weeks.
In late January and early February, the sheriff’s office said, at least nine houses were broken into on Lady’s and St. Helena islands, many of them rental homes that were unoccupied at the time.
Security footage shared by police showed a group of masked and hooded figures rifling through one of the residences, peering into windows of parked cars and slinking through yards in the area.
Police had not announced any arrests in the burglaries as of Friday. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Daniel Allen said the series of break-ins was unrelated to Tuesday’s home invasion.
The following weekend, the owner of a vacation rental in Hilton Head Island’s Burkes Beach neighborhood was checking on the home when she found a man standing in one of the bedrooms, according to previous reporting.
Police arrested the 25-year-old suspect, saying it appeared he had been “squatting” inside the empty residence.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 4:44 PM.
