Raided club owner used to be a deputy
A month after he was let go as a deputy at the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, the owner of a Bluffton nightclub raided by police Saturday was arrested and charged with business and alcohol license violations.
Keith Fernandez, 30, was charged with operating without a business license, unlawful manufacture, possessing and storing of alcoholic beverages, illegally storing liquor in a place of business, operating without a permit and unlawfully carrying a firearm on a liquor premises after the Bluffton Police Department and the S.C. Law Enforcement Division found guns and drugs at the Burroughs Bar and Grill Night Club at 39 Persimmon Street.
Fernandez was found with a firearm as a search warrant was executed, according to a Bluffton Police news release.
Fernandez worked for the Colleton County Sheriff's Office as a deputy for a little over a year, Lt. Shane Roberts of the Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
He also worked as a deputy for the Jasper County Sheriff's Office several years ago, Chief Deputy Roy Hughes said.
Hughes could not recall how long Fernandez worked at his department. He said Fernandez began working for the Colleton Sheriff's Office shortly after he left Jasper County.
Fernandez was let go in August 13 at "the pleasure of the sheriff" in Colleton County, Roberts said Tuesday. He said Fernandez was hired in April 2013.
Roberts said there was no record of disciplinary action again Fernandez.
Eight others were charged Sept. 19 when investigators found .16 grams of suspected heroin, $260 in cash collected from cover charges, four firearms, 59 rounds of ammunition and 610 bottles of illegal alcohol, the release said.
Fernandez was released Tuesday from the Beaufort County Detention Center, according to the center's documents. No indication of when Fernandez is expected in court was available Tuesday on the Beaufort County Court's website.
Three employees and two customers were also released.
Customer Leonard Brown Jr., who was charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm on a liquor premises and felony possession of a firearm remains in custody with a $10,000 bond.
The club was previously shut down in January when it was known as the Encore Lounge and was under different ownership.
The address is registered to Braveship Financial LLC., a company based in Oklahoma.
When asked Tuesday if Braveship Financial would evaluate lease policies for future tenants, the company's Bluffton attorney Nick Felix, with the McNair Law Firm, said neither he nor his client would comment on the circumstance because it is a pending matter.
Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.
Related Content:
- Police: Bluffton night club raid leads to 9 arrests, discovery of guns and drugs, Sept. 22, 2015
- 'Nuisance' nightclub closes in Bluffton after eviction, Jan. 16, 2015
This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Raided club owner used to be a deputy."