Charlie Bernard Fuller, left, Jadar Kentrell Johnson, middle, former Clemson football players,and Quaven Maurice Ferguson, former Duke football player, appear in Clemson Municipal Court in Clemson on Thursday.
Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail
Jadar Kentrell Johnson, 22(Photo: Clemson Police)
Two former Clemson football players appeared in court Thursday morning on charges connected to an armed robbery case.
Jadar Kentrell Johnson, 22, and Charlie Bernard Fuller, 22, were among three men charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. They made a court appearance along with 22-year-old co-defendant Quaven Maurice Ferguson, who faces the same charges.
Johnson and Fuller were part of Clemson’s 2016 national championship team. Fuller and Ferguson graduated from Easley High School, and Ferguson played football at Duke University.
The judge on Thursday set the bond for each defendant at $25,000. All three were released on bond by the end of the day, according to city of Clemson officials.
Police received a call about 4 p.m. Wednesday from someone reporting an armed robbery at an apartment on Sloan Street in Clemson. The victim told police three black males knocked on his door and forced their way inside.
They held the victim at gunpoint, took a cellphone, and an undisclosed amount of cash from a kitchen cabinet and a nightstand in the back bedroom, according to police and arrest warrants.
Police identified Johnson, Fuller and Ferguson through surveillance video from the City of Clemson Parking Deck, according to warrants. The men were seen returning to a white, four-door Mercedes-Benz that is registered to a family member of one of the men, according to warrants.
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The victims were a 21-year-old male who lived at the apartment and a 20-year-old female who lived at a separate address, according to an incident report. In court, the victims’ advocate said both victims in the case were too traumatized attend the hearing Thursday.
The defendants, as part of conditions of their bond, are under electronic monitoring and prohibited from leaving South Carolina or contacting the victims.
The three men are due back in court at 8:30 a.m. May 17 in Pickens County.
Johnson, originally from Orangeburg, started 17 games at safety for the Tigers and went undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft. He signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent but announced his retirement from football before the season began.
In February, head football coach Dabo Swinney announced Fuller’s plan to transfer out of the program for the 2018 season. He rushed for a combined 599 yards and four touchdowns in his three years at Clemson.
Reporters Haley Walters and Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.
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