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.
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.
The report lists Sherice Clanton as the complainant and victim. On the report, her occupation is listed as “police officer.” A June 2009 blog post from the United States Park Police identifies her as a new Park Police officer.
The narrative on the police report describes the incident as follows:
C-1 reports while in the gym of the listed location she sat her purse down with her issued weapon inside. When C-1 took a look in her purse she noticed that her weapon was missing from her purse.
After further investigation by MPD it was found that S-1 had discharged the weapon inside the bathroom in the gym and fled the location. The suspect then went to a dorm room in Village C of the University where he was located along with the weapon.
The handgun is described as a Heckler & Koch .40 Smith & Wesson.
The primary offense listed is Criminal Possession of a Weapon Without a License. Theft I and Destruction of Property (less than $200) were listed as the secondary and tertiary offenses, respectively.
The report lists the price of the destroyed toilet bowl as $250.00.
The report says the incident began at 10:21 p.m. Friday night and ended at 10:25 p.m. The report was filed at 1:35 a.m. on Saturday.
UPDATE 9:19 PM: Officer Clanton declined to comment.
UPDATE 9:47 PM: Sergeant David Schlosser, a Park Police spokesperson, said he does not think Clanton was on duty at Midnight Madness. He added that officers are allowed to carry their government weapons off-duty in certain circumstances, and said the Park Police will investigate the incident.
Schlosser also valued the Heckler and Koch gun at $800 to $1,000, making the theft of the gun a felony.
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Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson just officially confirmed that one shot was fired in a men’s bathroom in McDonough. No one was injured, but authorities made the decision to hold students in the building for a few minutes after the event.
Olson confirmed that the suspect was apprehended on Village C West and that no shots were fired there. The suspect is a male Georgetown student and is currently in MPD custody.
Update 3:15 a.m. According to Leigh Finnegan, a Voice leisure writer and resident of Village C West, a freshman student from San Diego, CA who lives on the third floor of VCW, drunkenly took a handgun from an officer during Midnight Madness.
A weapon was discharged in the men’s bathroom of McDonough Gymnasium, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson.
The drunk student then allegedly returned to the third floor of VCW where he was apprehended by DPS, according to Finnegan.
Concerned students from VCW notified DPS about the student with the weapon, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
The source said the gun was taken from a female officer with a federal agency, possibly the Park Police. The gun was made by Heckler and Koch, the source explained, and added that the high-quality firearm could be devastating in the wrong hands.
Vice President Olson had no comment about the type of weapon or whether it belonged to a federal employee.
DPS released an advisory about the incident early this morning, the full text of which can be found after the jump.
Update 11:00 a.m. Vox just obtained the MPD arrest log, which shows that Georgetown student Alex Thiele was booked at 12:30 a.m. for possession of a handgun without a license.
Reporting by Eric Pilch and Will Sommer. Photos by George D’Angelo.
The approximately 5,000 thousands of students who attended Midnight Madness were detained because shots were fired near in a bathroom in McDonough, according to a Department of Public Safety officer Vox reporter Will Sommer spoke to this evening.
According to the officer, a suspect was apprehended in Village C East West.
The officer also said that an off-campus officer lost his weapon while at the event. It’s unclear whether the two incidents are related.
Vox will bring you more information as we get it.
Update 12:55 a.m. The gun was allegedly found in a bathroom in Village C West.
Sommer is at the scene and says he sees a few cops there now. He also saw Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson there; Olson declined to comment.
Sommer also spoke to Men’s Basketball coach John Thompson III, who said he didn’t hear any shots during Midnight Madness.
We’ve called the DPS office to try to get more information, but they refused to comment until tomorrow morning.
Update 1:15 a.m. Sommer says he hasn’t heard anything about injuries. We just called the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District office, and they said that they do not have anyone from Georgetown currently in custody.
Update 1:20 a.m. Todd Olson told Voice News Editor Eric Pilch that no one was injured. There are still multiple police cars on campus.
Update 1:25 a.m. According to Sommer, the gun was found on Village C West 3. The suspect who was apprehended was male.
Update 3:00 a.m. Check out Vox’s latest post for more information and photos of the damage.
Just in time for tomorrow’s big event, Georgetown Athletics has put a “2009 Midnight Madness” video up on its website, and it’s well worth a watch:
Unfortunately, the big take-away from the video isn’t “Wow, I’m so amped for the 2009-10 Georgetown Basketball season!” but rather, “Wow, Georgetown’s has strange ideas about what makes for an acceptable pump-up video.”
With four students (one of whom is inexplicably sporting a crazy wig) solemnly/creepily intoning “Our school … Our pride … Our blood … Our team … Our tradition … Our time … Hoya … Saxa … We are … Georgetown,” the video mostly just makes us wonder how Georgetown has fallen so far from the “Beast of the Big East” glory days.
Hey all, I’ll be down here in Raleigh all weekend covering the Hoyas in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA tournament, so be sure to check the main site for regular updates. Here’s the first: a preview of the UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) Retrievers, Georgetown’s first-round opponent. Keep checking back for more through Sunday!
To update our previous story, a Midnight Madness visit to Georgetown was enough to prevent all outside intervention: top-ranked recruit Greg “The Doctrine” Monroe has decided to play hoops for the Hoyas next year, according to the Washington Post. If he follows through, he’ll round out a pretty stellar incoming class next year. Based on all the talk about his academic achievements, he’ll probably have a higher GPA than you, too.
“I think his greatest strength is his ability to do everything well,” Monroe’s high school coach Tyron Mouzon said. In a related story, Craig Escherick’s greatest weakness was that he wasn’t a very good coach.
Vox Populi is the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice, a weekly newsmagazine at Georgetown University. Opinions expressed in posts are those of their author alone unless otherwise stated.
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We’ll be sure to include by-the-second analysis of JT III’s dance moves
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