On the night of September 7, 2018, Brandon Tyson, Isaac McDaniel, Matthew Chastain, Sam Duncan, and Turner and Mayson Huffman attended the Wren High School football game in Anderson County, South Carolina. After the football game, the group of friends went back to Matthew's house and continued hanging out in the basement. After coming back to the house, 17-year-old Brandon consumed mushrooms and smoked marijuana, as confirmed by the toxicology reports. The other boys, often referred to as "The Mont Boys" are thought to have also smoked marijuana.
At some point in the night, Matt Chastain went upstairs to take a shower before bed. During the time he was gone, Brandon Tyson is reported as acting extremely out of character and in an aggressive manner. Brandon punched Turner Huffman in the face and ended up shattering the glass out of the garage door windows. He goes on to pick up a metal paper towel rack and start striking things with it. He picked up bar stools and was busting them on the walls and tore open the pool table cover by hitting it with the paper towel rack. It was around this time that Mark, the homeowner, came downstairs to the garage to see what was going on. Brandon lunged for Mark and took a bite out of his right cheek. Brandon is said to continue acting strangely, so Mark took it upon himself to go upstairs and grab his Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver. Mark allegedly said, "I'm going to shoot the mother****er." He claims to have then fired a warning shot into the air. Mark said Brandon began swinging a wooden 2x4 at the homeowner's wife when he fired a second shot. After Brandon was hit in the head, Mark placed the firearm in his pocket, where a deputy later retrieved it.
A little before three in the morning, Mark Chastain and Brandon Tyson were transported to nearby hospitals by ambulance. Brandon was taken to Greenville Health System. Among the two gunshot wounds, Brandon also received an open fracture on his frontal lobe, a broken nose, a dislocated jaw, a broken right arm, and broken fingers on both of his hands. He later died at 3:55 A.M. During and after this tragic event, the Tyson family were completely unaware. It is not until after 7 A.M. on September 8 that the Tysons were notified of their son's death, despite several of the boys having the Tysons' cell phone numbers. No calls were made from the ambulance or the hospital.
Mark was taken to the ICU at Greenville Memorial Hospital for the facial trauma he had obtained during the confrontation. At the hospital, he tested positive for THC, and his BAC was 0.074. In South Carolina, the legal limit is 0.08. Since the 911 call took place at 2 A.M. and Chastain was not taken to the hospital until almost 4 A.M., it is reasonably safe to assume that he was over the legal limit at the time the firearm was discharged.
While this case may seem pretty black and white at first glance, there are several inconsistencies and failures from both the Anderson County Police Department and the people present at the time of the crime. The ten-minute 911 call made by Samuel Duncan reports the firing of three gunshots in two minutes - a warning shot, a shot to the back of Brandon's neck, and a final, fatal shot to the back of Brandon's head. After Mark went upstairs to retrieve his gun, he could no longer locate Brandon. At one point, he runs into Samuel who is heard on the 911 call begging Mark not to shoot and identifying himself to the homeowner. It is believed that the other boys were hiding in several places inside and outside of the Chastain house during the incident. The only witnesses listed on the incident reports are Turner and Mayson Huffman and Sam Duncan. Mark Chastain's son was not even listed as a witness, despite coming out of the shower during the altercation and even joining in at some points, according to Mark Chastain's civil suit response. Brandon swinging a 2x4 at Chastain's wife is not mentioned in the dozen of incident reports filed and only comes up in Chastain's response to the Tysons' civil lawsuit against him. Mark said that Tyson reached for one of the 2x4 blocks as if to attack, as he had fallen while running from the homeowner.
The Tysons have a blog that has also caused some unnecessary chaos and drama in this case. On their blog, Justice4Brandon.org, that no crime scene photos were taken. However, crime scene photos were taken and have been released to the public. The family also claims that the witnesses were not separated upon the police's arrival, but this is contradicted by almost every officer's incident report. Three days after Brandon's tragic death, the Chastain's held a barbecue at their home, which The Mont Boys attended. A picture was posted on a family member's Facebook that is thought to have been taken in the same area where Brandon received the fatal shot to his head. Due to the family's blog and Mark Chastain refusing to give public statements, there is an abundance of misguided information and personal opinion mixed with facts in this case. In my research, I have not found many similarities between news articles. The family is looking for someone to pay for what happened to their son and unfortunately, that may never happen.
With my research and prior knowledge, I have concluded that Mark Chastain is most likely protected under the Castle Doctrine. South Carolina is one of many states that has a "Stand Your Ground" law code in place. According to Deatonlaw.net, "the 'Castle Doctrine' is not a 'defense' to a crime like 'self-defense' is. Instead, it provides IMMUNITY from criminal prosecution AND civil action for the use of deadly force". Since this incident took place in Chastain's home and entirely on his property, it was entirely legal for him to open fire on an assailant. But I find a problem with this. Mark was not supposed to be handling a firearm in the first place, let alone discharging it. He was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. If it was illegal for him to have the firearm, should he still be protected for using it?
To this day, charges have not been filed in this case. A civil lawsuit was filed against Mark Chastain which was eventually settled for an undisclosed account. There are still people fighting for justice for Brandon, as they feel it has not been served in this case. What do you think? Was Mark shooting in self-defense or was Brandon murdered in a drug and alcohol induced rage?
