Alleged Howard's Rock Vandal Waives Preliminary Hearing |
TigerNet learned Friday afternoon that Micah Rogers, the 18-year old from North Carolina who was arrested in connection with the vandalism of iconic Howard’s Rock, waived his preliminary hearing that was scheduled for last week.
Howard’s Rock, the fixture Clemson players rub prior to running down the hill during the football team’s entrance into Memorial Stadium, was vandalized sometime June 2nd or June 3rd. A small portion of The Rock was broken off of its pedestal after vandals broke the casing that protects the artifact. Video evidence later surfaced that showed a truck that Clemson University Police believed was used in the vandalism, and police arrested Rogers on June 28th. According to several sources that TigerNet has spoken with a preliminary hearing- to determine if there is enough evidence to try the case against Rogers- was supposed to be held last week; however, the defense waived its right to the hearing. Refusing the preliminary hearing is not uncommon and in most cases must be requested by the defendant or the defending attorney. At this point, both sides are in the discovery phase of the court process. During discovery, both sides will try to learn as much about the other’s case through subpoenas, interrogations and depositions. Once the discovery phase is completed, a trial date can be set. I have been told that any potential court date in Pickens County General Sessions Court will be anywhere from six months to a year after the arrest. As for other suspects in the vandalism – I have been told that while no other arrests have been made, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t suspects. I was told that the Clemson police are trying to make sure they do everything in a proper manner, and that they realize they have time to investigate and are using this time to prepare a proper case. A timeline of the vandalism, investigation, arrest and pre-trial movement in the vandalism of Howard’s Rock *June 2nd, afternoon – A group of campers at Clemson head coach
Dabo Swinney *June 2nd/3rd – In the early hours of that evening, unknown subjects jumped the fence under the scoreboard, removed the protective case covering the rock and chipped a large portion of the rock, estimated to be almost 15 percent of the rock. *June 3rd – Clemson associate SID Jeff Kallin notices the damage to the rock and reports it to the police. *June 12th – For the first time, information about the vandalism is announced publicly, and fans are allowed into the stadium to take pictures of the rock. June 20th – Clemson University police release a video that shows a white pickup truck parking outside of the gate and spending 13 minutes outside of the gate. Police ask for help in finding the truck. *In the week after the video release, university police identify internally 18-year old Micah Rogers of North Carolina as a major person of interest in the case. *June 28th – Police announce that they have arrested Rogers in connection with the case, but also announce that the investigation is ongoing and that further arrests could be made. *Week of July 15th – Rogers’ defense waives the right to a preliminary hearing. Nikki Steele also contributed to this report. 
Dabo Swinney
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’s camp had their pictures taken with Howard’s Rock inside of Clemson Memorial Stadium.
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