The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a potential contraband incident involving Tom Reitz, one of the eleven elected officials who sits on the county’s council.
Reitz, who represents thousands of constituents on the southern half of Hilton Head Island, visited one of them in the local jail. It was during the visit with his constituent, local government critic Calvin “Skip” Hoagland, that Reitz somehow snapped a photo on a cell phone he brought into the detention facility.
The possible policy breach that allowed for Reitz to have access to his phone in the jail and any possible criminal implications are currently under review by local law enforcement and the South Carolina Department of Corrections, according to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
What does the law say?
In South Carolina, bringing contraband into a county jail is a felony punishable by a fine or up to ten years in prison. The South Carolina Department of Corrections specifies that cell phones, other than those with specific exceptions, are considered contraband.
Elected officials, including Tanner and the council’s Chair Alice Howard and Vice Chair Tab Tabernik who brought the incident to law enforcement’s attention, did not confirm the names of the individuals involved to “protect the integrity of the investigation.”…