A Ridgeland man was sentenced to six years in prison Jan. 8 for charges he received after being caught during a traffic stop in Beaufort with a handgun modified to fire as an automatic weapon, officials said.
Emanuelle Hargrove Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a machine gun during Beaufort County General Sessions Court, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds imposed the sentence.
Hargrove’s charge stemmed from a Jan. 8, 2024, traffic stop, the solicitor’s office said. Shortly after 3 a.m. on Lady’s Island, a Beaufort Police officer patrolling near Bay and Carteret streets noticed a Nissan Altima with a non-functioning brake light crossing the Woods Memorial Bridge in downtown Beaufort. The officer proceeded to make a traffic stop on the vehicle which had Hargrove as a passenger, on Sea Island Parkway near Whitehall Park…