Stefan Mrgan was a decorated military veteran, a hero to his country and family, who was described as a larger-than-life man who did nothing halfway. Known to friends and family as Steve, the 36-year-old White male had served for 15 years in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret, combat diver, and sniper, earning two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained overseas. He was also a husband to his wife, Alison, and a father to their three children.
After his military service, Mrgan worked as a firefighter and diver before taking a job at a gun store in Charleston, South Carolina.
On November 2, 2021, Mrgan was at his workplace, Coastal Firearms on Cainhoy Road, having a normal conversation with the store’s owner, Jon Whitley. Whitley told investigators he had brought a replica Glock BB gun into the store to play a prank on his friend and employee. He placed the replica among real firearms, but when he went to execute the prank, he mistakenly picked up a loaded Glock 17 handgun. Whitley pointed the weapon at Mrgan and fired, striking him in the lower face. First responders found Mrgan unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Whitley immediately told deputies the shooting was an accident. Investigators determined that while the shooting was not intentional, Whitley’s actions were reckless. An arrest warrant noted that as a firearms expert, his conduct represented a "departure from common firearm safety practices." On November 29, 2021, Jon Whitley was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was booked into the Berkeley County Detention Center and later released on a $15,000 bond.
In the years that followed, Mrgan’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Whitley and his business, seeking accountability for her husband’s death. The criminal case proceeded slowly, causing further pain for a family that had already endured an unimaginable loss.
The case came to a conclusion on October 16, 2025, when Jon Whitley pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. A judge sentenced him to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service to be directed toward organizations that support veterans or military families. As part of the sentence, Whitley was also ordered to serve 25 days in jail, to be served in five-day increments each year from November 1 to November 5, marking the anniversary of the fatal shooting.
