Fake dating profile traced to defendant in shooting - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather

Fake dating profile traced to defendant in shooting

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) -- Authorities say a fake dating site profile of the Beaufort County sheriff has been traced to a defendant in a shooting.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports the local prosecutor traced the posting purported to be from Sheriff P.J. Tanner to the computer of Preston Oates, who is under house arrest. Tanner is married.

Authorities say Oates cannot be charged for that but did violate parole by making cellphone calls away from his home. Oates's attorney would not comment.

Whether Oates stands trial in the shooting is being appealed.

Attorneys have argued the fatal shooting in Bluffton on Christmas Eve 2010 was self-defense. They say Oates was forced out of his tow truck by 34-year-old Carlos Olivera, who threatened him and showed a handgun in a parking dispute.

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