According to the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, around 11:59 am on Tuesday morning, a patrol deputy observed a driver fail to stop for a stop sign at Richardson Boulevard and Wildwood Lane in Lugoff. The driver pulled into the rear parking lot of Lugoff-Elgin High School and came to a stop in a parking spot. The deputy approached and identified the driver, who was the only occupant. The deputy could smell an odor of marijuana from inside the vehicle and was going to search the vehicle. The driver told the deputy he was going to be late to class. A search was conducted of the vehicle. The deputy located an unsecured, loaded handgun under the driver’s seat and THC vapes in the center console and driver’s side door. It was confirmed the driver was a current student at Lugoff-Elgin High School and his next class was at 12:04 pm.
18 year old Taylor Payton Weston was arrested and charged with unlawful carry of a firearm on school property. Weston cooperated with investigators during a subsequent interview at the sheriff’s office. No information obtained by investigators indicates Weston had any intentions of taking the handgun out of his vehicle. Weston doesn’t have any major school disciplinary incidents and has no prior criminal record. He was booked into the Kershaw County Detention Center to await a bond hearing. Sheriff Lee Boan says, “At this time, we have no reason to believe Weston had any intentions to harm anyone with the firearm. However, my office and the Kershaw County School District will maintain our ‘zero tolerance’ policy when it comes to firearms being unlawfully possessed on school grounds in Kershaw County.”