A Clemson, S.C. city police officer has been accused of handing over a purse containing more than $150,000 in cash and checks to Clemson University running back Roderick McDowell following a May 2012 traffic stop involving one of McDowell’s acquaintances.
The purse – which belonged to Anderson, S.C. car dealer Toni Waddell – later went missing from McDowell’s possession, prompting Waddell to file a lawsuit against the City of Clemson for negligence in handling her property.
The drama began in the early morning hours of May 19, 2012 when Waddell’s 24-year-old son – who met McDowell the day before at his mother’s car lot – drove into Clemson in his mother’s 2007 Maserati Quattroporte. Unbeknownst to him, beneath the driver’s side seat of the car was a white knockoff Dolce and Gabbana purse belonging to his mother which contained cash and checks from her car dealership.
When Waddell’s son was arrested on a “careless driving” charge by Clemson police officers at 1:30 a.m. that morning, the purse began its fateful journey into the unknown.
According to Waddell’s lawsuit – filed in the S.C. thirteenth judicial circuit last September – Clemson, S.C. police officer John Brown “removed a purse from the car that belong to (Waddell).”
“Instead of keeping the purse and taking (it) back to the police station, Officer Brown handed the purse to Roderick McDowell, a running back for the Clemson Football team, who was standing near the vehicle and was a friend of (Waddell’s) son,” the narrative goes, according to court papers obtained exclusively by FITS.
“Mr. McDowell, who took possession of the purse now claims that it was stolen from his possession,” the lawsuit continues. “The purse at the time of Officer Brown’s decision to give it to Mr. McDowell … contained over $150,000 in cash and checks. The checks have been replaced but the cash has been lost.”
How much cash? “Approximately $80,000,” the suit alleges.
James Lindsey Jr., a friend of McDowell’s, confirmed this account in a statement provided to the Clemson police department.
“Another officer, a black man, pulled up and I saw him take the purse out of the car,” Lindsey told police. “I saw him give the purse to Rod.”
Lindsey later added “we didn’t know that there was a lot of money in the purse.”
McDowell also confirms receiving the purse from the Clemson cop.
“The black officer approached me and said, do you know his mother and I said ‘I know of her’ and he asked me if I would give the purse to her,” McDowell told police. “I said yes and took the purse.”
The next morning McDowell says he called Waddell in an effort to return the purse to her.
“I told her that her purse was in the car but when I got to the car I saw that the purse was gone,” McDowell said, acknowledging he and his friend left the vehicle unlocked.
McDowell’s statement to police recalls Waddell angrily telling him “you better find my purse.”
Waddell referred all calls about the incident to her attorney, Brian Arnold – who did not immediately respond to our request for comment. However FITS has obtained a three-page letter submitted by Waddell to another media outlet in which she recalls her interaction with McDowell.
“I told him ‘my life is in that car, I’ve got to get that car back or I’m going to lose everything,'” Waddell said, according to the letter.
Waddell says McDowell didn’t tell her he had been given the purse until it was already gone.
“Not once did he allude to the fact that he had my purse and its contents,” she said in the letter.
Clemson police chief Jimmy Dixon confirmed to FITS that an incident involving McDowell took place in May 2012, however he referred comment regarding the matter to Anderson, S.C. attorney James D. Jolley – who did not respond to our request for comment.
FITS has forwarded copies of the court filings to Clemson University, but have yet to receive a comment from them regarding the matter.
McDowell – a 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior tailback from Sumter, S.C. – had the game of his career last weekend in Clemson’s 38-35 victory over then-No. 5 Georgia, rushing for 132 yards on 22 carries against the Bulldogs. Last season McDowell ran for 450 yards on 83 carries as a backup to All-ACC performer Andre Ellington.
To view the court filings, statements and other documents referenced in this report, click on the links below …
95 comments
It probably contained the IPTAY player benefits.
Are Waddell or the police officer IPTAY members? Possible NCAA violation?
Who just carries $80,000 in cash in their purse? Damn.
it’s not uncommon for a car dealership to bring in deposits with that much cash and checks.
(worked at a bank)
Ah you were a bank teller? Nice
Yeah, so what?… I worked on a teller line once upon a time too… what are you, on welfare? Don’t ever demean honest work, you worthless and likely freeloading prick.
Yes I am.. Thanks Obama!
And you are a prick.
YUMAD Toasty?
Not any more. That was 19 days ago. You?
I have to agree with you on this! Cash drops are typically this big on average or bigger!!
The question should be, Who leaves $150,000 in their car for their son to drive?? Sounds like BS to me!! A purse may have been in the car but did anyone see the money??
My question is can anyone in the town of Clempson spell “Maserati Quattroporte” – we know they’ll lie, cheat and steal.
If Clowney can do it then, then I would expect Clemson residents to be able to do it.
Q,,,,, = four doors
Read the docs… She didnt know he took the car and went to see rod down town Clemson then all of this happened.
She was probably going to make a Cash drop.. Thats typical of a dealer to have that kind of money.. They flow in and out more cash than a regular business…
Orange is a perfect color for prison Garb!
Fits Clemson perfectly!
This was filed a year ago, and NOW you’re writing a story about it? Can’t wait to see your story about Quandon Christian’s RV for stinking up the men’s room in Holmes Hall.
Sorry. I don’t wake up every morning and start downloading Pickens County court documents looking for the names of Clemson Tiger football players. Neither do the Clemson beat writers, apparently.
No, just every other day apparently.
Even for a slow news day this is sad…
She is a fucking idiot for leaving that kind of money in a car.
Its a scam. She may have left her purse but did anyone actually see any money? Checks are easily replaced even if they don’t need to be.
It wouldnt be filed as a lawsuit if there wasnt a way to prove it! The lawyer thats representing her wouldnt take the case if there was no way to prove there was cash. I am an investigator so believe me ive seen things like this before! And ive seen car dealers get robbed of cash more significant than this either from a safe or from at gun point at a bank. Dealers have that kind of money in and out all the time… People who are not in the business wouldnt know anyways so talking trash when you are uneducated is honestly funny!
You post as IPTAY and call someone else a fucking idiot?
The image in the mirror resembles you.
Sound logic. I like your style, Mirror
My favorite response to this story so far —>
https://twitter.com/Dr_Skinny/status/375420854357991424
Someone’s mad!
Re: First paragraph of first witness statement.
The Department of Redundancy Dept is going to be all over this guy.
still waiting for the proof of an affair with nikki
Its on page one of Folk’s book. Available at a news stand near you.
Will it have a chapter on the “black State Senators Love Child”?
between the chapter on Watkins family’s resort stay and the chapter on Wingo’s SAT.
So – if I’m boiling it down correctly, RM shows up at the scene of an arrest of his “friend”, receives a purse containing $80,000 in cash and $70,000 in checks, doesn’t tell the purse’s owner that he received it when she asks him about it, and then he later claims it was stolen from “an unlocked car.”And let me guess – he didn’t file a police report to report the purse stolen after “it was stolen”…
If you read the court docs you would see that he did tell her and tried to file a police report but was told he couldn’t because it wasn’t his purse.
But close
The key word in your response is “read”. Clowney is not the only one who can’t. It seems to be endemic amongst fans of Carl’s Jr.
Niiice…..people who pull for certain football teams know how to read while those who pull for others don’t. Scientific fact.
Yeah my reading comprehension must not have understood where she recounts that “at that point he could have said ‘I have your purse.’ But he never did.” I clearly did not understand that part. That couldn’t possibly be saying when they spoke he failed to mention it. And on the purse and the claimed attempt to file a police report – if someone breaks into your car, you can file the report about your car being broken into even if what was stolen wasn’t yours. Even an idiot who cannot read understands that distinction. No cop would’ve said “oh someone broke into your car and stole someone else’s property? Well you can’t file any report because it wasn’t your property that was stolen even though, you know, your car was broken into.” Even if a car “was unlocked” it’s still breaking into it if you don’t have the owner’s permission. I’m pretty sure even an idiot who cannot read knows that too. Next time do more than read – try to also use even a marginal level of critical thinking. Who knows what the truth is? I don’t. The entire story is bizarre.
I wonder why they have trials, open courts, oaths, cross examination, etc.? Could it possibly be to ascertain the truth? I guess your idea is to accept witness, police, etc. statements at face value.
A whole lot of holes in his story. Doesn’t add up. That’s all I’m saying. Last person seen with purse containing large roll of cash says purse was stolen from unlocked car but doesn’t file police report on the car break-in because the police told him what was stolen wasn’t his property. Really.
Maybe its your reading comprehension that needs some work. By her own admission she hung up on Roderick to call the police after she went all melodramatic saying “My life is in that car.”
No she humg up on rod after she said where is my property.
Yep, and conveniently he’s not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
He didnt report it but he tried.. He was trying to cover his tracks is what he was trying to do?? That way he couldnt be at fault!! He knew good and well that money was in that bag, the Guy was driving a Maserati for god sakes in clemson!
TBG hopes he doesn’t open himself up to a “liable” suit (filed by a certain CSOL alum), by saying this….but he suspects this is a money grab by the car dealer.
On the other hand TBG suspects that, whether in Clemson, Columbia, or Tuscaloosa, when a policeman finds a bag full of cash in close proximity to a star football player, the cop likely just assumes that the money belongs to the player.
I think Will is just trying to point out that there is money missing and a black man must have taken it.
I think Will is just trying to expose the over-the-top propagandists and apologists that reside within the Orange nation (uh, you), and particularly, within the insulated and untouchable Town of Clemson. But lighten up dude, every school has its own corrupt fan base, and oh yeah, the black cop probably did have something to do with its disappearance, notwithstanding your “cry racism” BS comment.
May want to redact the SS number and cell phone from those statements
Irrelevant eh?
Go Dawgs!
Did anyone report seeing the money in the purse??
Lmao I hope this blows up in clemscum’s face ….somebody went shopping with that $80k #HotRod
He even used some of it to pay Clowney’s Ruth Chris tab.
This used car “lady” is an absolute shake-down artist. There was no $80k in the purse. The dumbass cop screwed up not cataloging it into inventory, and now the greasy used car “lady” wants to cash in a lottery ticket. A Pickens County jury is going to shut her out – goose eggs for the greasy used car “lady.”
Hilarious…. Rod is a genius…. Cash is nearly un-traceable…
But who knows, the son may have stolen the cash, maybe they are working together on it. I wish I was so rich I could forget, even for a moment where I left my 150,000……
Thats funny because the guy getting arrested didnt know the purse was in the car! So how could he have stolen it? The cop handed over a purse that he didnt inventory and never checked into.. There is an issue with that and the fact that when rod called to tell his mother the purse was gone was after she called before saying he had been arrested. Now that brings me to believe that rod said something about it afterwords.. After she hung up and called back. He never said anything about the purse when they were on the phone! Then she hung up on hom after he said i have your purse and he said its stolen… There are alot of Loopholes here and honestly this needs to be investigated at another level besides local police! SLED needs to be involved in this because its a Felony!
The lawyer thats representing her wouldnt take the case if there was no way to prove there was cash.
*************************************************************
Thats funny because the guy getting arrested didnt know the purse was in the car!
You sure you’re an “investigator”, Hoss?
Cop is at fault, nothing will happen to Rod or Clemson…. Move on…. Go finish signing for cash, and don’t worry about what happens in tiger town.
The Wadells don’t offer to take a lie detector test?????
Why would a crime happening against the waddells pose for them to take a lie detector test.. Unless asked by the police its not an issue.. Your bringing up nonsence..
The Wadells didn’t offer to take a lie detector test????
Doesn’t everyone leave their life savings in the back seat of the car over night.
Sounds like a payment system that Mrs Waddell wasn’t aware of or one she threw out in the open after getting angry. Also sounds like another big cover up by Clemson University and Clemson PD, AGAIN. This is FITSNews though, but this needs to be looked into. I wonder if Clemson will have to forfeit their win to UGA.
Whats the cover up? I would love to hear your conspiracy theory. These are all court docs available to anyone who requests them.
ITS A CONSPIRACY! THE ENTIRE TOWN OF CLEMSON IS IN ON IT!! THE ENTIRE UPSTATE!! EVERYONE IS BUT USC FANS!!1!
Are you the guy who wants Clemson to forfeit their win to Ga because of food poisoning? “Whatever it takes…JUST FORFEIT THAT WIN”
I think we need to go back to striped prison uniforms.
Orange with purple stripes would be quite appropriate and stand out as incurably ugly!
You would need some Garnet stripes if you wanted them to look right. South Carolina is the school that has half a dozen players arrested every off season.
I call BS on this, if the purse was beneath the seat the then cop must have searched the car. If he was searching the car and found the purse he would have searched the purse. No way he hands over a purse with that much cash in it. Sounds like a scam to me.
First off the purse was behind the seat.. Read the court docs! The purse was taken out by the cop.. Who gave the purse to rod. So it really happened.. And the cop never checked the purse to start with… Just handed it over to this guys mother! Thats whats F*** up.. Rod should have never accepted the purse at all, but decided to carry it with him and two other girls. Who knows.. But the damn cop broke his obligation by duty and gave away property that should have come to the station with the guy being arrested!! It didnt… That caused it to disappear into the abyss of orange… When rod had it in his car and the doors were UNLOCKED… Really!!!??? They knew there was money in there… Who wouldnt F***ing look!!? If it isnt yours and a cop gives it to you???
I thought you had to be a Medicaid dentist in order to afford such a whip.
What’s the problem with the links above – click and the article closes.
Roderick the convict, kinda of sings like a rap song doesn’t it!
We don’t know that yet. We may never know.
What I’m suspicious about are two things—
(1) what caused the cops to stop Kris just when he pulled out on the road,
(2) why would the cops arrest Kris without searching the car, including the white purse – I would think that searching the purse for illegal items would be standard procedure in order to hit him with extra charges
There is a rotten smell there…….
Who leaves a Maserati UNLOCKED???
oh…a Clemson student…a thief…a tailback
or a Clemson Tailback Thief…just sayin’
This is the Maserati that the police had towed away from the scene? You fit the Clowney profile. You can’t read.
Classy.
The purse wasn’t stolen from the Maserati. It was stolen from McDowell’s car later, at his apartment.
Well if you want to get technical yes it was stolen from the maserati because the cop didnt invetory it and handed it to rod a d then it stayed with him the whole night and then randomly gets stolen from him… NO???
I love clicking 11 links to read 11 pages that could have been scanned onto one pdf.
Lots of factual holes remain to be filled in.
I’d prefer to read a piece on your twitter selfie.
Someone needs to talk to the two “Brittanys” and the three “dudes” — at separate times at least one of the girls and two of the guys were in the back seat with it. The girls drove Roderick home.
Okay so we know that Rod called her all night to try to give it back(according to all statements), we know that he told her the next morning that her purse had been stolen and that she hung up on him during the first call from all statements. He made his statement to police the day after the purse disappeared and said that he tried to file a police report in Clemson and Anderson, don’t you think the police would call BS if he had not actually tried to file a report in the last 12-24 hours? And then Rod and his friend voluntarily submit to a lie detector test? These don’t sound like the actions of person that stole a purse with $80,000. Don’t ruin a kid’s life until it at least looks more like he did something wrong. The women that stands to gain money here is the only one that even says there was a large amount of cash in there that no one could ever disprove.
It’s not just focusing on the money alone, but that the purse itself with contents went missing. Rod’s statements and actions seem reasonable and believable (with the exception that he didn’t take the purse inside when he arrived home or didn’t lock his car) for someone who had been riding around “showboating” until early in the morning. Just how big was this purse supposed to be and how fat was the wad of cash? I’ve got serious doubts about someone leaving that money in her car – no matter that she was “tired”. Also I just read the post by “mystery shopper” —- hmmmmm.
Now we are talking.. The contents are missing period… No forensics were even done on the car that rod was in and i find it interesting that its never ever ever turned up??? Sounds like someone was scared and burried it or hid it. A typical thief in my profession takes the ID and Money.. Cash and cards and ditches the purse. Throw it in a dumpster.. Or throw it in the woods. But its gone.. Gone gone.. Odd huh?? Someone got spooked that knew about it..
Other odd
People on here are not looking at the actual facts you know!! Comparing the two statments they are off.. And there are some really odd comments from james and rod that are not conclusive to what they are saying..
Well, I’m a fan of great mysteries and this seems to be one. Imagine how many different folks’ fingerprints were on that purse! And I’m still curious about those 2 girls and then the 3 dudes…………
He did not try and call all night, he tried to call her in the morning??
The only interesting part of this story is that once again, we see an incident involving the police and a Clemson football player which takes nearly 3 months to see any mention whatsoever and it isn’t on WYFF. They were too busy trying to get Clowney for talking with Jay-Z,
Understandably, of course, since it usually involves those police officers losing their jobs.
Wonder how many other incidents occur which are brushed under the rug?
Yeah…. I’m calling bullshit, just like every other Clemson related article you put out. You’re a true dumbass.
Ok Clemson Football fans before you say this lady is crazy look at your facts! Alot of things were done horribly wrong from the get go! The cop gave the purse to Roderick… Who unfortunatly shouldnt have taken it to begin with. The funny part about this all is that the Cop gave something off without checking the contents of the bag due to being unable to get the trunk open on the Maserati!? Big mistake to just hand over peraonal property.. It should have been taken with the guy arrested… The other funky thing is.. Why would Roderick say “we went to the waffle house, James paid with cash” kinda odd?? Noone asked you what you paid with or why!? Then offering to take a lie detector test.. Ehhh often times that is admission to guilt before even going further. Criminal activity sometimes come fourth in saying ill do this.. Or ill do that..? Ill take a lie detector.. To try and mask the fact that they did it. Investigation training says that so why werent they actually poly’ed?? Loop holes.. Loop holes… Loop holes!! This should be a SLED investigation!! My opinion im entitled to it.. On the Clemson PD and Rod.. Unfortunatley!
My husband is car dealer and confirms she is a scam artist. There was checks but no cash. Word around town is she has stolen money from people in the past. Looks like she is trying to extort money from the Clemson police department. Wonder how Roderick feels about that.
She is scum bag just trying to get a free ride. Word around town is that she has stolen money from other people. My husband is a car dealer. She is the talk around the auto auction of a person to stay away from. Can anyone say extortion!!!