Man accused of kidnapping, raping CofC student after she left King Street bar asks to get out of jail (2024)

A man accused of kidnapping and raping a 20-year-old College of Charleston student after she left a popular King Street bar this past February is asking to be let out of jail while his case remains pending.

Andrew Mettal, 28, appeared before 9th Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson on Aug. 20 as his public defender made a bid to get him released from the Al Cannon Detention Center. A little more than six months ago, Charleston County sheriff's officers found Mettal hiding in the walls of the Airbnb he was renting after an hourslong standoff that ended in him being taken into custody.

Defense attorney Jason King said his client's lack of any criminal conviction entitled him to bond. King further defended Mettal by telling the judge what happened between Mettal and the college student was "consensual." He added that most of the state's evidence against Mettal lacks credibility because it is based on the account of the victim, who had been drinking.

Chief Deputy Solicitor Jennifer Shealy countered the narrative, calling the native New Yorker a "textbook case" of someone who is a danger to the community.

Mettal has legally changed his name and has multiple identities, has had previous run-ins with law enforcement and video allegedly shows him stalking King Street, seeking out women before eventually approaching the victim he is accused of raping, she said.

"He wanted sex that night, and he was not taking no for an answer," Shealy said.

Jefferson declined to make a ruling at the hearing, instead taking the matter under advisem*nt. She did the same with seven other cases that were presented during the same Charleston County Circuit Court session before Mettal's name was called. His hearing was delayed so a suit could be delivered for Mettal to wear in court instead of the slate-gray striped SACDC jumpsuit that current inmates typically wear.

The case dates back just after midnight on Feb. 4, when the victim leftRepublic Garden & Lounge, an upscale nightclub that is the subject of a popular reality show on cable television on Bravo, "Southern Hospitality." The Post and Courier generally does not identify people named as victims of sexual assault.

The young woman called her boyfriend while standing on King Street and asked him to pick her up, but he asked her to call a ride-hailing service because he had to be at work early the next morning. Mettal then approached the woman and offered her a ride home, Shealy said.

King countered that the video shows the woman willingly got into Mettal's vehicle, which he told the judge she did "purely to make her boyfriend mad," since he declined to pick her up.

As King claimed that what happened next was consensual, the woman's family shook their heads in disagreement. Shealy called the notion "fantastical."

As Mettal drove away from downtown Charleston, the woman reached out to her boyfriend again. He panicked and used an app to track her location, which he saw was not near her house, Shealy said.

Her boyfriend called 911 and"made every effort to get to her," by tracking her location and attempting to catch up to her in his car, Shealy said. But at some point in the drive, Mettal allegedly threw the woman's phone out of his car, records show.

The victim told investigators she lied to Mettal and told him she had to use the restroom. It was an attempt to escape, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. But instead of stopping at any gas station Mettal passed, he parked his silver BMW at an isolated location along New Road in the western edge of the county, the affidavit states.

There, Mettal allegedly told her he was going to have sex with her, per the arrest affidavit. He sexually assaulted her and struck her when she screamed, according to the affidavit.

Mettal allegedly then told the woman he would kill her if she contacted 911, then left her in the dark, rural part of the county.

She walked to a home about a mile down the road and told the residents around 1:50 a.m. that she had been raped. Law enforcement officers arrived shortly after, finding the woman in a "distressed state."

She had injuries that were consistent with an assault and agreed to complete a rape kit for evidence. The evidence was sent to Georgia to be analyzed, the prosecutor said. She did not elaborate on why the kit was sent out of state prior to publication.

The victim's purse was also found at the site where she said the attack took place, and the ground appeared disturbed and indicative of an assault occurring, according to the affidavit. Fresh footprints and markings from high heels were found in the dirt, Shealy said.

The incident was "horrific" for the victim and her family, Shealy said.

The Charleston County Sheriff's Office began a "very aggressive" investigation to identify the suspect. Detectives linked the case to Mettal, and he was arrested Feb. 9 after an hourslong standoff on the 5200 block of Mauss Hill Road.

Mettal's defense attorney said Mettal's girlfriend lives on James Island, and she has offered to let Mettal stay with her if he is granted bond. He also secured a spot at a halfway house in the Upstate if it's necessary for him to go to transitional housing, King said.

This is the first time Mettal has appeared before a circuit judge asking to be let out of jail. Jefferson said she would issue her decision by the end of the day, though no decision had been made public as of 5:45 p.m.

Jocelyn Grzeszczak contributed to reporting in this article.