Recently suspended Columbia lawyer Frank McMaster, the brother of a former South Carolina attorney general, was “grossly intoxicated” when he was arrested for firing guns behind his house during a bizarre incident in an upscale neighborhood near Lake Murray, according to a police report.
McMaster
McMaster has been charged with using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, public disorderly conduct and tampering with a vehicle. The weapons charge – the most serious of the three misdemeanor offenses – carries a fine of at least $2,000 or a maximum sentence of two years.
The events leading up to McMaster’s arrest began shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, when one of his neighbors, Doug Mader, said he heard a burst of gunfire coming from McMaster’s property.
That McMaster was firing a gun was not particularly unusual, according to Mader. He and McMaster live in an unincorporated part of Lexington County where it’s legal to shoot on private property while sober. Still, Mader said he and his fellow neighbors, many of whom have kids, weren’t keen on McMaster popping off shots behind his house.
Mader called McMaster’s landlord to complain about the gunplay and was surprised to learn that the landlord had just talked with McMaster. The landlord said McMaster told him that one of his two sons had been shot and killed. Assuming the worst, Mader called 911.
Four sheriff’s deputies who responded to McMaster’s house at 601 Somerton Court would ultimately discover that both of McMaster’s sons were alive and no one was injured during the incident.
Deputies paid two visits
The first deputy to arrive on the scene wrote in an incident report that McMaster “appeared confused.” According to the report, McMaster told the deputy that he’d just learned that one of his sons had been killed in Afghanistan. Both of his sons reportedly serve in the military.
“At this time,” the report states, “with the neighbors stating they had heard gun shots, as well as not knowing if McMaster’s other son was inside the home, deputies decided that we needed to check the interior of the house for possible victims.”
After clearing the house the deputies drove away without arresting McMaster, only to be called back about 10 minutes later to investigate another report of shots fired at his house. The gunfire also had triggered a burglar alarm at a home next door.
“I exited my vehicle when I heard a rifle discharge in the backyard of [McMaster's house],” states the incident report. “I then immediately radioed for backup when I heard additional shots fired from what sounded like a rifle. I then heard Frank Mcmasters [sic] yell “f___ with me now.”
The deputy wrote that he pulled out his M-4 rifle and took cover behind his patrol car. Then he saw McMaster run from his backyard to Mader’s Honda van that was parked nearby.
“He then jumped out and ran toward me [the deputy] when I challenged him to go to the ground,” the report states. “Frank then went to the ground and appeared to be unarmed and grossly intoxicated.”
Mader, who was watching the incident unfold from a window inside his house, said the deputies had to wrestle McMaster to the ground before he was handcuffed and placed inside a cruiser.
After the arrest, the deputy said he found several spent rounds from rifles and pistols lying on the deck behind McMaster’s house. He also found a collection of rifles and pistols in a front room of the residence.
The deputy wrote in his report that he contacted one of McMaster’s brothers, former South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, to come and secure the house. Henry McMaster did not respond to an interview request. He served as the state’s chief prosecutor from 2003 to 2011.
Another run-in with the law
Five days after the shooting incident, deputies were called back to McMaster’s house to investigate an allegation that he had placed another vehicle’s license plate on a Porsche Boxster convertible so he could drive the car without the owner’s consent. The owner, Anthony Hall of Batesburg, wanted to press charges, but was told to pursue a civil case against McMaster, according to a sheriff’s deputy’s report.
On March 4, the state Supreme Court temporarily suspended Frank McMaster’s law license. The court did not provide a reason for the suspension, and McMaster has declined comment through his law partner and other brother George McMaster.
Now, George and Columbia lawyer David Fedor are defending Frank against the charges tied to the shooting. Frank intends to plead not guilty, according to George. Frank had practiced law with George and a third brother, John McMaster, at Tompkins & McMaster in Columbia.
Frank was released from jail after posting a $11,744 surety bond and has since moved out of the Somerton Court residence to live with George. Mader indicated that he will not be missed in the neighborhood.
“Me and all the neighbors have kids at home and we’re not thrilled to have someone shooting guns on their back porch,” he said. “We didn’t buy into living in a place where people think they’re out in the wild.”
-Follow Phillip Bantz on Twitter @SCLWBantz