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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