Campus Alert Archive
Wofford

Two Forced From Wofford's Campus to a Spartanburg ATM at Gunpoint

SCrobberytimely warningmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Just after midnight on February 20, 2022, two armed men in ski masks approached a Wofford College student and the student's friend seated in a parked vehicle on campus and forced them at gunpoint to drive to a Founders Credit Union and a Bank of America ATM on East Main Street in Spartanburg to withdraw cash. The college issued a campus alert describing the incident. The primary suspect, TaJuan Devon Garrett, then 18, was arrested two weeks later and ultimately sentenced in August 2024 to 20 years in prison.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Wofford College
Private Liberal Arts · SC
~1,700 studentsRave Mobile Safety
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction351 chars
Wofford Alert: An armed robbery and kidnapping was reported on campus just after midnight. Two suspects approached students in a parked vehicle, displayed a handgun and forced the victims to drive to an off-campus ATM. Both suspects were wearing all black with ski masks. If you see suspicious activity, call Campus Safety immediately at 864-597-4911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from regional news coverage that described but did not fully quote Wofford's timely warning email; the alert was distributed via Rave Mobile Safety on the morning of Sunday, February 20, 2022
Wofford uses Rave Mobile Safety for emergency notifications across email, mobile phones and social media channels
The incident initially occurred on campus but escalated off-campus when the victims were forced to a Bank of America ATM on East Main Street in Spartanburg
Context

Background

Just after midnight on Sunday, February 20, 2022, two armed men in ski masks approached a Wofford College student and the student's friend who were sitting in a parked vehicle on the Spartanburg campus. The men, later identified as TaJuan Devon Garrett, then 18, and a codefendant, displayed a handgun and forced the students to drive to Founders Credit Union and a Bank of America ATM on East Main Street where they were ordered to withdraw cash. The suspects also took jewelry and cell phones, with Garrett later selling phones at a Westgate Mall kiosk. The suspects then abandoned the victims and the vehicle in the area of Greenville Street and Tryon Street in Spartanburg, where the victims flagged down an officer near West St. John Street and Daniel Morgan Avenue. Wofford College's Campus Safety office issued a timely warning to students that morning. Garrett was arrested approximately two weeks later and pleaded guilty in August 2024 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The kidnapping is among the most serious campus crimes in Wofford's recent history; the student newspaper later wrote that Wofford 'has seemingly been free from extreme security issues' such as shootings, but pointed to ongoing concerns about car thefts, break-ins and incidents like this one.
Analysis

Key Findings

The hours-long delay between the early-morning incident and the campus alert reflects the standard practice of waiting for initial police investigation before issuing a timely warning when an immediate threat to the wider community is not present
Wofford's small size (~1,700 students) and central Spartanburg location make off-campus ATM crimes a recurring concern, with this incident the most serious recorded in the past decade
Garrett's 20-year sentence was driven by the kidnapping element rather than the robbery — South Carolina's kidnapping statute carries a 30-year maximum, and the use of a firearm enhanced the sentence
Outcome
TaJuan Devon Garrett, 18 at the time of the incident (20 at sentencing), of Spartanburg, was apprehended approximately two weeks after the incident. He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to armed robbery and kidnapping charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The suspects also took jewelry and cell phones; Garrett later sold the phones at a Westgate Mall kiosk. A codefendant was identified but had not been apprehended at the time of the initial reporting.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    2 kidnapped from Wofford College campus, robbed at gunpoint (WSPA)
    wspa.com
  2. News
    Man arrested following kidnapping, robbery at Wofford College (WSPA)
    wspa.com
  3. News
    Man arrested, police search for second suspect after armed robbery at Wofford College (Fox Carolina)
    foxcarolina.com
  4. News
    Man pleads guilty to kidnapping, robbing Upstate college students (WSPA via Yahoo)
    yahoo.com
  5. Official
    Emergency Alerts (Wofford College)
    wofford.edu
Tags
armed-robberykidnappingsouth-carolinaprivate-liberal-artsrave-mobile-safetyatm-robberyski-masktimely-warning
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion