Georgetown got a taste of vigilante detective work last March, when Joseph Combs (COL ‘10) caught Simon Wu (MSB ‘11), who had stolen Combs’s iPod from a party. Wu had tried to sell the stolen iPod on Craigslist, and Combs had posed as a buyer. Combs set up a sting, and on March 24, Wu was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Since then, Wu has been on an eight-month journey through DC’s criminal justice system. After being released from jail without bail, Wu was charged in April with second degree theft. The charging documents accuse Wu of acting “with the intent to appropriate the [iPod] for his own use,” but, alas, fail to note Combs’s detective abilities.

On May 19, he entered into a six-month First Time Offender Agreement with the United States Attorney, where he admitted his guilt and agreed to a series of punishments.

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As promised, Vox was in Superior Court this morning for alleged Midnight Madness shooter Alex Thiele’s (‘13) preliminary hearing. It’ll all be written up in a summary for the Voice on Thursday, but until then, here’s what went down, including the exciting claim that someone else stole the gun.

Thiele came into Judge Andrea Harnett’s court in an orange jumpsuit (no cameras were allowed in the courtroom), with his hands shackled behind his back. He stood next to his new attorney, Mark Schamel, last seen defending an alleged sexual assault perpetrator at George Washington. Thiele was also supported by his father, Dr. Jay Thiele, and his grandfather.

The preliminary hearing was about deciding whether there was enough information to prosecute Thiele, and also whether he should be kept in jail or released. The US Attorney wanted Thiele to stay in custody, saying he was dangerous, while Schamel insisted essentially that even if Thiele was guilty, he wouldn’t be dangerous anymore because he wouldn’t have access to a gun.

Either way, it doesn’t look like Thiele will be headed back to Georgetown. If Thiele was released, Schamel said Thiele would return to his home in San Diego.

“I think it’s unlikely that he’s going to return to Georgetown University,” Schamel said. “I don’t think they’re going to give him that option.”

Weird thing about the Where Alex Thiele Lives debate: his arrest records list him as being from London having his address in London.

Thiele’s appearance was out of the ordinary for the courtroom.

“There’s a new one–to have a Georgetown freshman,” Judge Harnett said.

Testifying for the prosecution was Metropolitan Police Department Detective Nelson Morais, who interviewed Thiele a couple hours after the shooting. Morais’s testimony gave new details about what allegedly happened Friday night.

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Washington bullets

UPDATE 11:58 PM: At the hearing, Alex Thiele appeared in an orange jumpsuit, with his hands cuffed behind his back. His defense attorney made comments to the effect that Thiele will probably be expelled from Georgetown. Full post coming later today.

The latest Midnight Madness shooting news: alleged shooter Alex Thiele (‘13) has a preliminary hearing in criminal court this Tuesday morning. You can bet Vox will be there.

Until the hearing, which should shake loose a few more details, here’s what’s known so far. If you prefer your Midnight Madness shooting information in a less organized, although more thrilling, style, check out our posts from Friday night and the weekend.

During Midnight Madness this Friday night in McDonough Gymnasium, according to a police report, someone (allegedly Thiele) took a Heckler + Koch .40 from the purse of Park Police Officer Sherice Clanton. Clanton was not on-duty at the time, according to Sergeant David Schlosser, a Park Police spokesman.

After obtaining the gun, Thiele allegedly went to the men’s bathroom in McDonough and shot a toilet once. All of this occurred between 10:21 p.m. and 10:25 p.m., according to the report.

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