RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Willow Spring High School football captain was arrested after warrants said he kidnapped and forcibly raped someone on Saturday.
Triston Gardner, 18, of Clayton, is charged with felony second-degree forcible rape and felony first-degree kidnapping. His arrest warrant, issued on Sunday, said he committed the acts “against the victim’s will” on Saturday.
According to the Wake County Public School System, he is no longer enrolled at WSHS, which is located in Fuquay-Varina. Gardner’s social media accounts show he was one of the captains of their football team and was also on the school’s baseball team.
Gardner was arrested around 8 p.m. Sunday by an officer with the Fuquay-Varina Police Department. On Monday, Gardner made a virtual first appearance in court Monday morning with his parents in the courtroom.
“For the allegations, your honor, this was a rape that occurred at a party, it sounds like,” a district attorney said in Gardner’s first appearance. The DA said that the rape took place in a bathroom at that party and that the victim sustained “injuries to the genitals consistent with a rape.”
Two witnesses observed the victim and the defendant together and saw the victim “visibly upset,” the DA said. According to witness statements, the DA said Gardner “ran from the home” after being confronted.
The DA requested no bond for Gardner and that if one were to be granted, he asked for the top amount for Class C felonies.
The attorney in court representing Gardner started by saying, “he just turned 18 on the 17th of this month” and pointed out he has no criminal record.
“He was born in Raleigh, he’s a senior at Willow Spring High School, he’s the captain of the football team, he plays on the baseball team, he has a 4.1 GPA. He’s looking at colleges right now and will probably get an athletic scholarship in one of those sports, if not both.”
The attorney asked the judge for a bond of $50,000, saying even though the charges are serious, they are “completely inconsistent” with what he knows about Gardner.
The DA asked the judge to put a no-contact order in place as well as a requirement for Gardner to stay away from the victim’s school, home and place of employment, in the event he was given a bond.
The judge decided on a $500,000 bond and ordered that Gardner must not contact the alleged victim. He must also stay “at least 500 yards away from her place of residence, school and employment at all times,” the judge said.
Gardner’s next court appearance is set for Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. According to court documents, Gardner is required to provide his fingerprints and a DNA sample as part of the investigation.
