COLOMBIA, SC (AP) – An aspiring rapper who introduced himself under the name “Dank Frank” will no longer spend time in prison for setting two South Carolina governor’s houses on fire.
Frank Wilberding, 23, was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 600 days spent in prison in Richland County awaiting trial for arson and other charges, the Post and Courier of Charleston reported.
Prosecutors said Wilberding burned down the houses near the University of South Carolina in May 2019 because of a dispute with tenants. No one was injured in the fires.
Wilberding said he had no idea that Governor Henry McMaster owned the properties.
A spokesman for the governor did not comment on the case.
Wilberding’s family and lawyer said he had drug problems when he started the fires, but corrected himself.
“What I did was wrong and I know that,” Wilberding told the judge. “I just want to have one more chance in life again to prove that I can be a good citizen.”
Wilberding had faced up to 175 years in prison for arson, drug possession and assault charges, but he accepted a court settlement. Judge George McFaddin Jr. said Wilberding’s remorse and apologies to tenants led him to decide to release Wilberding from prison on Thursday.
Like “Dank Frank”, Wilberding posted 27 songs online with titles including – “I Be Sellin Weed”, “White Champagne”, “Codeine & Cocaine” and “Yahtzee”.
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