By Carlos Galarza-Veve
Courtesy The Journal

carlos@upstatetoday.com

Rogers

PICKENS — A 20-year-old North Carolina man dodged a bullet and serious jail time when he was found guilty of a misdemeanor last week in the vandalism of Clemson University’s famous icon, Howard’s Rock.

[cointent_lockedcontent]After flirting with a deadlocked verdict and a mistrial, the jury of seven women and five men returned a guilty verdict against Micah Rogers on a charge of malicious injury to property with a value of less than $2,000 Thursday at the Pickens County Courthouse. The state wanted him found guilty of damages in excess of $10,000 that would have carried a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

On the charge of grand larceny with a value of more than $10,000, the jury decided
Rogers was not guilty. Had he been convicted of that charge, Rogers could have been sentenced to up to 10 years.

The defendant’s mother, Connie Rogers, wrapped her arms around her son as other family members surrounded him.

Circuit judge James Barber heard recommendations by assistant solicitor Baker Cleveland and defense attorney Frank Eppes before sentencing Rogers to a 30-day suspended sentence, 25 days of community service, a $1,000 fine and court costs of $700.

“My client and his family have gone through a lot, much more than anyone I’ve represented,” Eppes told the media afterward. “All I ask is that you respect their privacy.”

Eppes expressed his thanks to the jury and the judge.

Cleveland said he respected the jury’s decision.

“They had to look at the two charges separate from each other,” Cleveland said. “It was not an easy decision for them.”

It became evident the jury struggled with its decision. After leaving to deliberate at around 12:30 p.m., the jury sent a note to the judge around 1:45 p.m. asking to see the 13-minute video which allegedly depicts Rogers driving up to Memorial Stadium at the Clemson University campus around 11:30 p.m. on the night of June 2, 2013.

Rogers was accompanied that night by his friends A.J. Gainey and Xavia Wynn, according to testimony. Although no physical evidence was found at the scene to tie Rogers to any crime, Wynn’s statements to police two weeks later implicated Rogers.

At 2:45 p.m., the jury sent the judge another note asking to hear a recording of testimony given during the trial by a law enforcement officer.

The prospects of a verdict looked very dim at around 4:20 p.m. when Barber called everyone into the courtroom to say there was disagreement among the jury on how to decide the vandalism case.

“They are in a stalemate,” the judge declared as he looked straight ahead at the prosecutor and defense attorney sitting at their respective tables in front of the bench. “They are deadlocked.”

After four days that included arduous jury selection, hours of testimony from 13 witnesses and repeatedly watching the same dark and blurry video of the alleged crime, Barber told jurors that unless they went back to the jury room and agreed unanimously on a verdict, he would have to declare a mistrial.

“That means at a later date we’d have to pick another jury and go through this process all over again with the same witnesses and evidence,” the judge said. “I don’t think we’d be able to pick another jury as qualified as you.”

Barber encouraged the jury to continue their deliberations, be firm in their beliefs, but also be willing to listen to the minority and majority views of others and try to come up with a verdict within a reasonable time.

Less than 30 minutes later, Pickens County clerk of court Pat Welborn called everyone in again because a verdict had been reached.

During closing arguments Thursday morning, the judge expected the lawyers to keep it to about 45 minutes each, but Eppes extended his arguments to about 90 minutes. He used every extra minute to chip away at the credibility of the state’s key witness — Wynn.

Eppes told the jury he found it remarkable that although Wynn testified he heard banging and the sound of glass breaking (allegedly at the hands of Rogers), when the three friends who were all 18 at the time met up, nothing was said among them.

The defense attorney told the jury Wynn sat next to his client when they got back in the truck, never saw a piece of Howard’s Rock, or a hammer on Rogers, and incredibly, “nothing is said.”

Cleveland had the last shot at trying to sway the jurors during closing arguments and urged them to use their common sense in evaluating the case.

“Micah Rogers broke Howard’s Rock’s case that night,” Cleveland said. “Micah Rogers is the only one with skin in this game.”[/cointent_lockedcontent]