Full Notification

This morning, the Bluffton Police Department detained a 16-year-old male in connection with the December 23, 2019 murder of Trey Blackshear following an investigation by the Beaufort County Violent Crimes Task Force.
 

Trey Blackshear, 18, of Hilton Head Island was found shot to death inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Bluffton, on the afternoon of December 23, 2019. Video surveillance footage captured two males running from Blackshear’s vehicle toward the CPM Federal Credit Union parking lot, where they got into a light-colored sedan and drove off. The two subjects were not immediately located.
   
In the days that followed, a forensic autopsy was conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina, which confirmed that Trey Blackshear died as a result of gunshot wounds, and the investigation into his murder continued. During the investigation, which involved members of the recently formed Beaufort County Violent Crimes Task Force, it was learned that the light-colored sedan the two male subjects drove off in was registered in northern Beaufort County.

Through interviews of numerous witnesses, Violent Crimes Task Force investigators identified a subject involved in Trey Blackshear’s murder, a 16-year-old male. Yesterday, investigators completed juvenile petitions—charging documents—and met with a Beaufort County Family Court judge, who issued a pickup order to detain the juvenile subject.

Also yesterday, and after following up on the vehicle registration and interviewing witnesses, Violent Crimes Task Force investigators located the light-colored sedan at a residence on Mink Point Boulevard. While some investigators maintained surveillance on the vehicle, others obtained warrants from a Beaufort County magistrate to search and seize the light-colored sedan and to search the Mink Point Boulevard residence—including any occupants and vehicles parked on the property—for evidence relating to Trey Blackshear’s murder.
 
After the search warrants were obtained, Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators from the Violent Crimes Task Force converged on the Mink Point Boulevard residence. When the search warrants were served, more than 20 people were found to be at the residence. After all the people were identified and searched, the search of the residence and vehicles commenced. When the search concluded, 10 handguns, several rifles and narcotics were seized from the residence and vehicles on site. The handguns and rifles will be subjected to forensic examination—ballistics and DNA—to determine their connection to not only Trey Blackshear’s murder but to numerous recent shootings reported in northern Beaufort County. No arrests were made at the time of the search warrant, but criminal charges are expected.    
  This morning, the juvenile identified in the shooting death of Trey Blackshear turned himself in at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Center in Beaufort. On the authority of the pickup order issued by the Family Court judge, Bluffton Police officers detained and transported the male juvenile to the Department of Juvenile Justice detention facility in Columbia without incident.
 
Trey Blackshear’s murder is an ongoing investigation by the Bluffton Police Department in coordination with the Beaufort County Violent Crimes Task Force. The Violent Crimes Task Force is a partnership among the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the Beaufort Police Department, the Bluffton Police Department and the Port Royal Police Department to better address violent crimes throughout Beaufort County and its municipalities.
Anyone who has information regarding the December 23, 2019 murder of Trey Blackshear is encouraged to call the Bluffton Police Department Tip Line 843-706-4560 or Crimestoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111, if wishing to remain anonymous and for possible reward. 
 
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office appreciates your partnership and continued commitment to the safety of our community.