MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A professional skateboarder who destroyed art at a Murray Hill hotel during a nude, drunken rampage said he lost control and became "like the Hulk" because he took what he thought were hangover pills.
"I had a few drinks with this girl. She gave me a couple of pills. I became something I wasn't — something like 'The Hulk,'" said a smiling Jereme Rogers, 26, after he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and promised to repay the hotel $2,850 to cover the cost of his damage. He was released without bail Wednesday after spending five days in jail.
Rogers admitted to tearing three paintings off the wall and throwing them on the ground on Jan. 5., 2012 at the Affinia Shelburne Hotel on Lexington Avenue and West 38th Street.
Rogers said he felt he was in the middle of "a spiritual battle" and heard "positive and negative" voices after taking the pills and returning to the hotel. He claimed he thought he was doing good.
"Though I was doing something destructive, I felt like was saving the world," Rogers said speaking to reporters, adding that he was overjoyed to be free having been in a city jail since Friday.
He added that the girl who gave him the pills was not someone he knew well.
"I meet a lot of women," said the pro athlete, who was formerly sponsored by Red Bull and currently continues to skate and record music.
He denied initial reports that said he was high on angel dust, a common name for the drug PCP, explaining "I have never even seen angel dust before in my life."
Rogers agreed to pay back $2,850 in damages by Jan. 31. If he fails to do so, he could face a year in jail, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Diana Boyar warned him.
The skater politely told the judge that "yes ma'am" he was guilty of the charges and added he was sorry.
"You're apology was accepted," the judge told him.
Rogers, who lives in Los Angeles, said he was going to hang out in New York until after his birthday, later this week. He was in New York to celebrate New Year's Eve and to record music.
He said he was previously arrested for improperly carrying his registered gun in California and for driving under the influence. His other arrest, years ago in Florida, was for allegedly assaulting a police officer, an act he denies.
