DeMonte Capehart, a Clemson football player, was initially pulled over for “spinning (his) tires” and “accelerating to a high rate of speed” on campus before police discovered a 9 mm weapon, which Capehart claimed did not belong to him, in the trunk of his car during a voluntary search.
That’s according to a Clemson University Police Department report published to The State, which provides further information about Capehart’s arrest earlier this month on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm on school campus and failure to exercise due care while driving. Capehart, a redshirt senior defensive tackle for the Tigers football team, had left the program and was not participating in team activities as of February 14, according to the Clemson athletic administration.
“We have been aware of the facts of the case since the beginning, and he is not currently participating in team activities while all legal and university processes are being completed,” Clemson athletics stated in a statement last week. According to the CUPD report, which The State got through a public records request, Capehart was initially stopped by university police on February 6, 2024, around 8:17 p.m. for spinning the car’s tires and driving to a “high rate of speed” in a 25 mph zone on campus in a 2021 Dodge Charger.
During a traffic stop at Clemson’s tennis facility at 188 Old Greenville Highway, an officer wrote that “while searching for his vehicle information, Capehart opened his glove box, revealing a loaded magazine with what appeared to be small caliber rounds” for a firearm, according to the police report.
According to the report, officers asked Capehart to get out of his car since it was unclear whether a firearm was within reach of the driver. Capehart cooperated with the request, according to authorities. “Once removed from the car, I asked Capehart if there was a weapon or anything in the vehicle he shouldn’t have,” a member of the CUPD said. “Initially, he stated he did not know, but upon questioning about the magazine, he admitted to having a firearm within the vehicle’s trunk that belonged to his ‘homeboy.'”
Capehart provided CUPD verbal approval to take the magazine and firearm from his vehicle, according to the report, and officers discovered a 9 mm rifle in his trunk. The firearm was identified as a Hi-Point model 995 rifle, and “the serial number was run through dispatch, coming back clear.”
