Two Bulldog freshmen face criminal damage, weapon charges
Freshman defensive tackle Julian Rochester and freshmen cornerback Chad Clay were arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with second degree criminal damage and having a BB gun in a school zone according to the online Athens-Clarke County jail report.
Both are felonies.
"I'm disappointed with the poor judgment of Julian and Chad. We expect full compliance with the policies of the University and of our football program from all our student-athletes. Information is still being gathered but they will be disciplined in an appropriate manner."
Bond on the criminal damage charges have been set at $5,000 but as of 4:15 Tuesday morning, Rochester and Clay remained in the Athens-Clarke County jail. The two were later released at 11:21 a.m. on bonds totaling $6,000 each.
According to the report, Rochester was booked into the jail by Clarke County deputies at 12:29 a.m. while Clay was booked at 12:13.
Both players were apparently roommates, as per the online report. According to the official police report, the arrests were the result of an initial investigation that took place April 7 at which time UGA's police department received a call that afternoon from student affairs specialists Casey Lewis who informed police that a maintenance worker told him he spotted a "BB or pellet gun" on a barstool in the residence of Clay and Rochester.
Damage was estimated at between $835 and $1,085 and included University-owned doors, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, cabinets, walls and a refrigerator totaling $650.
Other damage estimated at $350 was done to the door of an adjacent room, along with a $75 fix to a light diffuser in the hallway and $10 to fix holes in the wall next to nearby rooms.
Police also found signs of marijuana in Clay's room but did not find enough to make charges.
"Obviously, we're terribly disappointed; very, very poor decisions," Smart said Tuesday morning on radio station AM-680. "The most upsetting part is I got to sit in both these kids homes in December in front of their mom and dad, and calling their mom and dad was probably the toughest part Their moms and dads are even more disappointed in them than anybody can imagine."
As two of the six early enrollees for the Bulldogs, Rochester is expected to play a key role this fall on Georgia’s defensive line. Clay is expected to back up in the secondary.
"We've got a standard of excellence at the University of Georgia that they've got to adhere to and when they don't they have to be disciplined for it," Smart said. "It's embarrassing to them, their families, the University, all of us, but we're still trying to gather all the facts and all the information. But at this point it's just disappointing."
Smart said he received a text on the incident earlier this morning.
"When your phone starts buzzing that's not a good thing," Smart said. "Poor decisions. It cost all of us. It cost the University, the team and it's something we're going to have to deal with in a proper manner."
Rochester's high school football program, McEachern, later sent out the following tweet:
What Smart decides to do with the two players remains to be seen.
The Bulldogs will already be without defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter who is suspended for the opener against North Carolina following his misdemeaner alcohol arrest and defensive lineman Chauncey Rivers who must sit out the first three contests following his second arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
More to come.