Hampton Templeton Saga: Assault Charge Reduced, Could Be Dropped

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The son of a former South Carolina state agency head – and 2024 congressional candidate – arrested in April for felony assault has had the charge reduced to a misdemeanor.

More significantly, this reduced charge could potentially be dropped altogether – or at least diverted – based on questions surrounding the case against 19-year-old Brooks Hampton Templeton, son of former Palmetto State health czarina, Catherine Templeton.

Templeton is a household name for many members of our audience. She ran for governor of South Carolina in 2018 – finishing third in the GOP primary behind incumbent Henry McMaster and Upstate businessman John Warren. Earlier this year, she was defeated by incumbent congresswoman Nancy Mace in the GOP primary for the Palmetto State’s first congressional district. Prior to her campaigns for elected office, Templeton served as the appointed director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the appointed director of the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SCLLR) – both posts in the cabinet of former governor Nikki Haley.

Most recently, she served as co-founder and ex-president of U.S. Brick.

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While a non-factor in the outcome of the first district GOP primary, the arrest of Templeton’s son drove headlines during the race… but should it have?

Last week, S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe told FITSNews he supported the decision by Lowcountry magistrate James B. Gosnell Jr. to lower Hampton Templeton’s felony first degree assault and battery charge to one of second degree assault and battery.

Second degree assault and battery is a misdemeanor.

Pascoe – whose office received the Templeton case from S.C. ninth circuit solicitor Scarlett Wilson – declined to comment further on the case, which he said is being handled by his chief deputy, Kelly LaPlante.

Gosnell based his decision to lower the charge on the failure of the state to prove that Templeton’s alleged victim – a Mount Pleasant teenager – had been harmed in a manner consistent with the statutory definition of “great bodily injury.”

Templeton’s attorney Shaun Kent said the felony charge “was made absent medical records” – which according to him ultimately revealed that the alleged victim in this case did not suffer a seizure, as law enforcement initially concluded.

“Great bodily injury means bodily injury which causes a substantial risk of death or which causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ,” Kent said during a recent hearing. “There’s been no testimony to that – none. And it’s not close. They can’t offer any because they don’t have it.”

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While the judge agreed and the charge against Templeton was reduced, Kent strongly implied during the hearing that it shouldn’t have been filed in the first place – referring to the findings of the original incident investigation conducted by the Mount Pleasant Police Department (MPPD).

“The original officer (who) had the case,” Kent said. “He made a determination, him and whatever other officers (went) out there, that (the victim) was the primary aggressor.”

Kent’s recapitulation in court was consistent with the original MPPD case notes obtained by this media outlet.

“The case will be closed due to witness statements that the victim was the primary aggressor and there is no evidence indicating the suspect assaulted the victim,” the report noted. “Although the victim did sustain injuries, there is no probable cause that the suspect assaulted the victim.”

As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Templeton is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to the reduced charge filed against him.

Count on FITSNews to provide any pertinent updates related to this case as it continues to make its way through the South Carolina judicial system…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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