Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone and Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner conduct a news conference on Friday, July 17, 2026, one day after Deputy Solicitor Mary Jones went before a grand jury to secure indictments against some of the defendants involved in a July 4 shooting at Hilton Head Island’s Coligny Beach. The news conference can be viewed below.
The Beaufort County grand jury returned the following indictments:
Jayden Hawes
• Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
• Four counts of second‑degree assault and battery
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Quazier Davis (17 at the time of the shooting)
• Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
• Four counts of second‑degree assault and battery
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
• Possession of a firearm under age 18
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Marcello Royal (17 at the time of the shooting)
• Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
• Four counts of second‑degree assault and battery
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
• Possession of a firearm under age 18
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Andre Green
• Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
• Four counts of second‑degree assault and battery
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Jacob Johnson
• Two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
• Four counts of second‑degree assault and battery
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime
Christopher Capers
• Accessory after the fact
Amarion Riley
• Possession of a machine gun
• Breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature
“We did not present indictments for attempted murder because that statute, as it is currently written, only vindicates the harm done to intended targets,” Solicitor Duffie Stone said during the news conference. “In this case that applies only to other shooters and not the innocent bystanders who were shot in the field of fire. We had the choice of calling the shooters victims or defendants. We chose defendants.”
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
Bond settings for Hawes, Davis, Royal, Green, and Johnson are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Beaufort County Courthouse, 102 Ribaut Road, Beaufort.
Indictments and bench warrants can be viewed below:
