Police report details arrest of Clemson football player DeMonte Capehart

Clemson football player DeMonte Capehart was initially pulled over for “spinning (his) tires” and “accelerating to a high rate of speed” on campus before police discovered a 9 mm rifle, which Capehart said did not belong to him, in the trunk of his car during a consensual search.

That’s according to a Clemson University Police Department report released to The State that revealed further details surrounding Capehart’s arrest earlier this month on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm on school property and failure to exercise due care while driving a motor vehicle.

Capehart, a redshirt senior defensive tackle on the Tigers football team, was away from the program and not participating in team activities as of Feb. 14, according to the Clemson athletic department. Clemson starts spring practice next week.

“We have been aware of the facts of the case from the start, and he is not presently participating in team activities while awaiting completion of all legal and university processes,” Clemson athletics said in a statement last week.

According to the CUPD report, obtained by The State via public records request, Capehart was initially stopped by university police on Feb. 6, 2024, around 8:17 p.m. for spinning the car’s tires and accelerating to a “high rate of speed” in a 25 mph zone on campus in a 2021 Dodge Charger.

During a traffic stop conducted in the parking lot of 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.

Officers asked Capehart to get out of his car “as it had not yet been determined if a weapon was within reach of the driver,” the report said. Capehart complied with that request, according to police.

“Once removed from the car, I asked Capehart if there was a weapon or anything in the vehicle he shouldn’t have,” a CUPD officer wrote. “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 gave CUPD verbal consent to remove the magazine and firearm from his vehicle, the report said, and officers found a 9 mm rifle in his trunk. The rifle was identified as a Hi-Point brand Model 995 rifle and “the serial number was run through dispatch, coming back clear.”

After officers discovered the 9 mm rifle, they wrote that Capehart then consented to a search of his entire vehicle “because he was unsure what else his ‘Homeboy’ may have left inside,” according to the report.

During a full search of the car, the report said officers found “several empty liquor/beer containers and, in the back seat, a yellow plastic baggy containing four live 9 mm rounds.”

Capehart told officers that, prior to being pulled over, he had his car parked at Fike Recreation Center on campus while he was “inside participating in a basketball game.” After the conclusion of the search, according to the report, officers informed Capehart he was being arrested on the two aforementioned charges.

He was transported to the Clemson City Police Department jail and “booked without incident” that night, according to the report. According to Pickens County court filings, Capehart posted a $232.50 bond for the traffic charge and a $10,000 bond for the weapons charge on Feb. 7.

Separate filings for the weapons and traffic charges were made Feb. 14 in Pickens County general sessions court. Capehart’s case is classified as a criminal case, and his court dates for both charges were pending as of Monday.

Capehart is entering his fifth season with the Clemson football program. He had a career-high 15 tackles and five tackles for loss during the 2023 season and also played 179 defensive snaps, more than double his career high.

The 21-year-old Capehart is a native of Hartsville, South Carolina and joined Clemson as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2020 out of IMG Academy in Florida. He was the No. 34 overall composite recruit in his class.

Coach Dabo Swinney’s program starts spring practice Feb. 28.