Francois credited with helping police investigation

Stephen Francois looked away from the two former Citadel football players at his side Tuesday as a judge credited him with helping detectives solve a home invasion that landed all three behind bars.

Francois told investigators that quarterback Miguel Starks and linebacker Reggie Rice recruited him to commit a "lick," or theft, on Feb. 24, and that he watched the two men suit up with masks, gloves and pistols at Starks' off-campus apartment, according to arrest affidavits.

Their target, investigators said, was the James Island home of Herbert Joseph Butler III, a former cadet with a history of marijuana arrests. Rice had known Butler since they met at The Citadel in 2006, and the two had spoken just hours before the robbery, arrest affidavits state.

Francois told investigators that he accompanied the two men and his girlfriend, Sasha Gaskins, as they went to the Woodland Shores Road home and forced their way inside with the aid of a ruse, affidavits state.

Rice and Starks are accused of binding Butler and a woman with duct tape and stealing electronics and a debit card. The woman also was reportedly sexually assaulted during the holdup. Francois told deputies he drove the getaway car, affidavits state.

Charleston County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday charged Rice, Starks and Francois with first-degree burglary, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of kidnapping and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

Magistrate Linda Lombard denied bail for Starks and Rice on the burglary, robbery and kidnapping counts; she set bail at $25,000 each on the firearm charge.

Lombard told Francois she could not set bail on the burglary charge, as only a circuit judge has that authority.

But she said his attorney and detectives explained how his "full confession" helped crack the case, which convinced her to give him an opportunity to post bail on the remaining charges, she said. It wasn't much of a break, however; she set his bail at more than $2 million.

The three men also are accused of robbing assistant Citadel football coach Joshua Harpe at gunpoint after forcing their way into his West Ashley apartment Feb. 27. They are being held without bail in that crime.

Gaskins is charged as an accessory in that holdup and as a participant in the James Island home invasion. She also remains in custody.

Neither of the James Island victims attended Tuesday's proceeding.

The woman was too distraught from the incident, though she wants the case prosecuted to the fullest, a victim advocate told the judge.

Butler could not be there because he is serving 30 days in a Suwannee County, Fla., jail for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer in November. He pleaded guilty to charges in that case last week.

Sheriff's Detective Nick Wagner said investigators are looking into the possibility that drugs played a role in the Butler home invasion, but they are not looking to file drug charges against anyone at this point.

Wagner said some of the suspects could face additional charges in the case, and there is a possibility of a fifth suspect being implicated. Detectives continue to investigate the sexual assault that was reported during the home invasion, and charges could follow at a later date, he said.

Francois' attorney, Peter David Brown, said his client cooperated fully with investigators and hopes that will help him down the line. Prosecutors have made no promises or deals, he said.

Brown said Francois was an excellent student and a star athlete at Mundy's Mill High School in the Atlanta area, where he was a classmate of Starks'. Outside of sports, he was a member of the school's mock trial team and was named "best attorney" in a competition.

Francois was recruited to play football at Charleston Southern University but had to sit out last season after a knee injury. He then transferred to the College of Charleston. He had a 3.2 grade point average and no criminal record outside of minor traffic violations, Brown said.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.