Nearly two months after an arrest was made in connection to the vandalism of Howard’s Rock, police have doubled up on the number suspected of defacing the iconic monument.
In a press release, Clemson University police announced that it has made a pair of arrests: 46-year-old Michael J. Rogers and 17-year-old Alden James Gainey. Both of the individuals are from North Carolina.
Rogers is the father of Micah Rogers, the 19-year-old who was arrested in late June.
Both the elder Rogers, reportedly the president and CEO of a masonry company, and Gainey were each charged with felony counts of conspiracy and obstructing justice. The younger Rogers allegedly involved was charged with one felony count of malicious injury to animals or personal property valued at more than $2,000, but less than $10,000 and one misdemeanor count of trespassing.
The two men appeared before a Pickens County Magistrate today, and each was released on a personal recognizance bond of $7,500.
In mid-June, Clemson officials confirmed that Howard’s Rock had been vandalized days earlier, with a release from the school stating that "[a] small portion of The Rock was broken off of its pedestal after vandals broke the casing that protects the artifact.”
And, for those who are curious, below are the mugshots of the two most recently arrested and charged:
