Hours after drug bust at Beaufort mobile home, it’s destroyed by ‘suspicious fire’
A mobile home where a suspicious fire occurred Thursday in Beaufort was hours earlier the site of a search by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s SWAT Team, which seized a variety of illegal drugs and stolen weapons, police said.
Four people who were inside the home at the time of the raid were arrested.
The search occurred after months of investigation into the residence, which was known to be a hotspot for drug distribution and violence, according to a news release by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Upon entering the home, officials seized six weapons, four of which were reported stolen, and a variety of illegal drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, marijuana and prescription pills.
Four people inside the home were arrested. They were identified as Aaron Hagood, 37, of Burton; Pierre Bryant Sr., 61, of Burton; Pierre Bryant Jr., 40, of Burton, and Ashley Crumley, 39, of Lady’s Island. They face a variety of drug-related charges, including possession, distribution and manufacturing, jail records show.
As of Friday morning, the woman and three men were being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
Police are not sure whether the Beaufort mobile home was used to manufacture and distribute drugs, according to Sgt. Danny Allen, a spokesman for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 8 p.m. Thursday — less than 12 hours after the search — the Burton Fire District responded to reports of a house fire at the same residence. Upon their arrival, the fire had fully engulfed the home, and had also spread to a vehicle parked in the front driveway, according to an alert sent from the Burton Fire District.
Firefighters were quickly able to control the house fire. However, the fire also spread to the vehicle’s fuel tank, causing continual flare-ups. All flames were eventually extinguished.
No one was inside the residence at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.
Burton Fire District contacted the sheriff’s office to investigate after concluding the fire was “possibly intentional,” according to Fire Marshal Daniel Byrne. Firefighters were unable to immediately determine the cause of the fire.
The incident is considered “suspicious” due to the fire and its effects appearing “unnatural,” according to sheriff’s spokesman Allen.
