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Andrew Robert Mettal, the 28-year-old Lowcountry man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a College of Charleston student, was denied bond by S.C. ninth circuit judge Deadra Jefferson.
Mettal allegedly met the intoxicated student sometime after 1:00 a.m. EDT on the morning of Sunday, February 4, 2024 outside of the Republic Garden and Lounge, an upscale bar that bills itself as “the gold standard of Charleston nightlife,” with bottle service featured on Bravo’s Southern Hospitality and a “DJ lineup keeps the party going all night.”
The alleged victim called her boyfriend asking for a ride home sometime after midnight, but he asked her to use a ride-sharing service instead. He would later describe her as “highly intoxicated” when recounting the call to investigators, a claim that was echoed by the victim’s roommate.
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Investigators obtained surveillance video of the upper King Street area surrounding the nightclub, video which they say showed Metal scouting multiple women prior to approaching the alleged victim. Prosecutors allege Mettal offered the young woman a ride home, and stated that the pair could be seen holding hands and laughing as they walked to his silver BMW.
According to police, when the young woman realized Mettal was leaving the downtown Charleston peninsula, she reached out again to her boyfriend, who notified authorities.
Prosecutors allege attempts to intercept the vehicle were thwarted when Mettal threw the young woman’s phone out of the car window as he drove into the rural western hinterland of Charleston County.
Authorities matched the missing person’s description with that of a woman who reported having been raped on the side of the road after walking a mile to the nearest home in Hollywood, South Carolina at 2:30 a.m. EDT.
A rape kit was collected and sent for processing by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
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In the days following the incident, authorities identified Mettal as a suspect in the sexual assault and attempted to serve a warrant on him – only to have him barricade himself inside a Lowcountry Airbnb property. The hours-long stand off included agents of the U.S. Marshals – who assisted in attempts to extricate him. Law enforcement personnel eventually launched multiple canisters containing eye-irritating gas into the property, and used a K9 to identify Mettal’s approximate location.
Officers eventually discovered him inside one of the residence’s walls. Mettal was taken into custody and booked at the Al Canon Detention center, where he has remained since.
Mettal recently made a motion asking to be granted a bond. At the hearing on his request, S.C. ninth circuit chief deputy solicitor Jennifer Shealy described Mettal as a textbook example of a danger to the community.
Mettal’s court-appointed attorney, Jason King, argued his client engaged in consensual relations with the alleged victim, and pointed to his lack of prior convictions as he advocated for Mettal’s release to a halfway house – or to house arrest at his girlfriend’s residence in James Island.
King has not responded to FITSNews’ request for comment at the time of publication.
Prosecutors wholeheartedly rejected the notion that the sexual encounter was voluntary.
Jefferson issued an order denying Mettal’s request for bond in the days following the hearing.
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RELATED | SOUTH CAROLINA’S DEADLY JUDICIAL LENIENCY PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE
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FITSNews has for years “highlighted the problem of judicial leniency for several years now – calling on state lawmakers to reject judges who let violent criminals go free.”
Our founding editor Will Folks addressed the difficulty of making bond decisions for first time defenders in 2022.
“Obviously I do not expect judges to get it right every time,” he wrote. “In certain situations I understand how first-time violent offenders can – and possibly should – be granted some leniency based on mitigating factors. But there is an old expression that when people show you who they really are, you should believe them.”
It is essential to the fairness and functionality of our judicial system that Mettal, like all others accused of a crime, is presumed to be innocent until he enters a guilty plea or is found guilty by a jury of his peers – but Jefferson’s willingness to rule that he poses a risk to society is equally important to the fairness of the judicial process.
Mettal demonstrated his willingness to evade authorities for hours, and stands accused of committing a truly heinous crime.
Accused South Carolina teen rapist’s Bowen Turner alleged assault while out on bond serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of granting bond to individuals accused of crimes of such serious violent criminality.
As Folks wrote in a 2023 article about similar judicial toughness, “if the Palmetto State can start making outcomes like this the rule rather than the exception, maybe we can once again start relying on our justice system to do the vital job it must do if we hope to continue functioning as a free society.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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1 comment
Thank you Judge Jefferson.