SC man, his three sons each charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, cops say
A South Carolina man and three of his sons — two who are teenagers — were arrested on attempted murder charges after five people were shot, the State Law Enforcement Division said in a news release.
On April 7, SLED agents arrested Melvin Lemacks, 56, and his sons Louis Lemacks, 25, Zakery Lemacks, 19, and Ellison Lemacks, 17, according to the release.
Each was charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm during commission of a violent crime, SLED said.
The charges stem from an April 1 incident when five people were injured in a shooting that was initially investigated by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. SLED said its agents were asked by the sheriff’s office to assist in the investigation.
The shooting happened on Logan Farm Road in Walterboro in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, the sheriff’s office said.
Melvin Lemacks and his sons stopped a truck near the entrance to their driveway, and then he hit the vehicle with a baseball bat, arrest warrants show.
The four members of the Lemacks family then opened fire on the truck, hitting it multiple times, according to the arrest warrants.
The truck was disabled during the shooting, and the five occupants — four of whom had been shot — got out and ran away, the arrest warrants show. The driver, who was one of the people shot, was armed and returned fire, per the arrest warrants.
The shooting victims were eventually stopped by law enforcement officers and received treatment for “a multitude of gunshot wounds of different calibers,” the arrest warrants said.
All five shooting victims were taken to area hospitals and survived their injuries, arrest warrants show. Further information on their conditions was not available.
The four Lemacks men admitted they shot at the truck, according to the arrest warrants.
There was no word on a motive for the shooting.
Melvin Lemacks and his sons were booked at the Colleton County Detention Center. All four remain behind bars after each had his bond set at $50,000 for the combined charges, jail records show.
The case will be tried by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and the Lemacks are scheduled to appear in court again on June 3, according to Colleton County judicial records.
If convicted on the felony attempted murder charges, Melvin Lemacks and his sons could face a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison on each count, according to South Carolina law. A conviction on the felony possession of a firearm during commission of a violent crime charges could mean a mandatory 5-year prison sentence.
Prior to the shooting, Louis Lemacks was out on bail and is facing a pending assault and battery charge, Colleton County court records show.
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