Doc Antle’s daughter arrested in connection to Myrtle Beach shooting investigation

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The daughter of Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, was arrested early Sunday morning with an unpermitted pistol.

Tawny Sky Antle was the passenger in a car pulled over by Myrtle Beach police around 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of Acline Avenue and Crimson Street because it fit the description of a vehcicle from a report of gunshots, according to the arrest warrant.

The reported shooting was heard near 3rd Avenue and North Ocean Boulevard with no injuries, according to MBPD Master Cpl. Tom Vest.

The driver of the car, Derek Justin Frost, was arrested when the officer noticed a black Glock 45 9mm in the car door because Frost did not have a concealed weapon permit, the warrant states.

That unlawful pistol prompted a search of the rest of the car, according to the warrant, and officers found a multicolored Sig Sauer P36 9mm in a red jacket on Tawny Antle’s lap. She also did not have a concealed weapon permit.

Both were charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol.

Doc Antle told The Sun News that his daughter did not wish to comment on the charge.

“Tawny is my youngest daughter who we love very much,” he said. “She is an adult who has her own life and is always sweet and kind. I am sure this will all work out to show she has not been involved in any wrongdoing.”

Tawny Antle is also facing some misdemeanor animal trafficking and animal cruelty charges in Virginia related to the transportation of lion cubs to her father’s facility in Myrtle Beach, also known as The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.).

Doc Antle is also facing multiple charges in that investigation, including some felony charges.

Antle and Myrtle Beach Safari have garnered worldwide notoriety since their inclusion in the Netflix documentary series “Tiger King.”

The series primarily follows the story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, a boisterous exotic animal exhibitor in Oklahoma who was sentenced to 22 years in jail earlier this year for attempting to hire someone to murder Carole Baskin, an outspoken animal rights activist who operates a big cat sanctuary near Tampa, Florida.

A second season of the series was recently released, though Antle is not featured in the episodes currently available on the streaming platform.