A former sergeant with the Bluffton Police Department, Bonifacio Perez, was found not guilty of misconduct after a Beaufort County jury reviewed the case and returned a unanimous verdict in his favor. The decision came quickly. After hearing all the evidence, the twelve jurors spent about half an hour in deliberation before clearing Perez of the charge that had followed him for more than a year.
The verdict brought an emotional moment inside the courtroom. Perez immediately embraced his attorney, Ben Shelton of Shelton Law Firm, before turning to his wife for a long and tearful hug. For Perez and his legal team, the outcome was a powerful affirmation of the truth they had been fighting to bring forward.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Attorney Ben Shelton said the decision marked the start of a much larger process.
“Justice was served today. Mr. Perez is grateful that the jury saw the truth,” Shelton said. “This is the first step in rebuilding his name and correcting the wrongs that were done to him.”
The charge against Perez stemmed from accusations made in 2024 that he helped a civilian employee, Thomas Rauchfuss, take firearms that had been surrendered to the department. Rauchfuss had served as the quartermaster and was responsible for police equipment and vehicle records. He is facing separate charges that remain pending.
Perez was fired during a departmental hearing in August of that year. Despite a long and well respected career that included promotions, leadership roles, and recognition as Officer of the Year, he was accused of failing to cooperate with the internal investigation. Prosecutors later claimed he assisted Rauchfuss, although the trial revealed significant gaps in the evidence.
During the court proceedings, several officers and a SLED special agent testified, but none of the testimony directly tied Perez to any wrongdoing. In fact, it was Perez who first reported concerns about Rauchfuss to investigators during a voluntary interview. He was the person who brought the issue forward, something that Attorney Shelton highlighted as a key point the jury clearly recognized.
Shelton Law Firm chose not to call additional witnesses for the defense because, as Shelton explained to the jury, the State had not presented solid proof to support the charge. He argued that the prosecution relied on assumptions rather than facts. His closing remarks focused on the missing pieces of evidence, such as the lack of a police report for the surrendered firearms and the absence of any testimony showing the guns were removed from police custody.
Even the judge expressed concern about the lack of evidence before allowing the case to proceed to the jury. Despite that, the judge permitted jurors to decide the case themselves. The verdict came swiftly and decisively.
Perez does not plan to return to the Bluffton Police Department, but with the support of Shelton Law Firm, he intends to continue his work in law enforcement. The firm will now begin the next steps in reviewing the actions taken against Perez and exploring the legal remedies available to him.
This story first appeared on The Island Packet. Click here to read the full article.