Man found in road covered in blood, but it wasn’t his. Now he’s in an SC prison
A South Carolina man is in prison following convictions for two separate attacks on transgender women, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On Tuesday, 34-year-old Columbia resident Clifford Eugene Hardy Jr., pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, Richland County court records show.
Judge Jocelyn Newman sentenced Hardy to 12 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Hardy attacked two transgender women in separate incidents in Richland County that were five months apart, the solicitor’s office said.
The attacks
On March 10, 2023, Hardy met the first victim at a motel on Sunset Drive, according to the release.
The victim told investigators that Hardy began smoking from a glass pipe, became aggressive and stabbed her in the leg three times when she tried to leave, the solicitor’s office said. She texted a friend to call 911, and deputies later found her injured, according to the release.
Further information on the woman’s condition was not available.
Hardy was also charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the March assault, but that charge was dismissed in October, court records show.
The next attack happened on Aug. 1, 2023, the solicitor’s office said.
Hardy met the second victim at a motel on Piney Grove Road, and after paying for sexual favors, Hardy became angry when she declined his advances for dinner and marriage, according to the release. During a hug as she prepared to leave, Hardy stabbed her in the back multiple times, the solicitor’s office said.
The victim escaped when Hardy slipped in her blood, and a bystander called the police, according to the release.
Responding deputies found Hardy lying in the road and covered in blood, the solicitor’s office said. Unable to determine if he was hit by a car, deputies called for an ambulance, and medical professionals ultimately determined Hardy had no injuries, according to the release.
Despite losing a significant amount of blood the second victim survived the attack, but further information on her condition was not available.
Punishment
Hardy is currently listed as an inmate at Kirkland Correctional Institution, a male-only, high-security prison in Columbia, which also serves as reception and evaluation center for prisoners, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Although transgender women were the victims in both attacks, Hardy was not charged with a hate crime. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the solicitor’s office told The State that specific charge was not issued because it was not clear from the evidence that Hardy’s actions were related to a hate crime.
While South Carolina, along with Wyoming, is one of two states without a state hate crimes law, Richland County passed a hate crime ordinance earlier in 2025. Under the ordinance, it’s a misdemeanor to commit a bias-motivated crime, and adds another layer of legal sanctions for intimidation. If a crime were motivated by a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or other bias, the defendant would face penalties for that crime, and for violating the hate intimidation ordinance.
The penalty for being convicted of a hate crime under the county’s misdemeanor ordinance is a $500 fine and 30 days in jail.
The cases were investigated by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Columbia Police Department.
Assistant Solicitor Joseph Kreush led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office. Columbia attorney Zoe Bruck, a public defender, was listed as Hardy’s lawyer, court records show.
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