Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

First-Year Harbin Resident Arrested by MPD

First-year student Kelly Baltazar, a resident of Harbin Hall Room 229, was arrested Tuesday evening by the Metropolitan Police Department, according to university spokeswoman Julie Bataille.

At her arraignment Wednesday, Baltazar pled not guilty and was released from custody. She will undergo drug testing and treatment and her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19, according to the D.C. Superior Court docket.

According to MPD spokesman Hugh Carew, MPD was called to campus at approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday for the arrest, which was made on grounds of “possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.”

Last Friday, the Department of Public Safety received an anonymous tip, according to an officer in the Department of Public Safety who asked not to be named. The officer said that it took DPS until Tuesday to hone in on the suspect. He added that the amount of marijuana allegedly in Baltazar’s possession was enough to warrant suspicions of intent to sell.

On Monday, DPS notified MPD that Baltazar was selling marijuana. MPD searched Baltazar’s room and found a green weed-like substance that tested positive for THC, the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant, according to the MPD Incident Report. Baltazar was subsequently placed under arrest and the marijuana was confiscated as evidence.

Baltazar is facing disciplinary action from the university for a category C violation of the Student Code of Conduct for possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. If found guilty of a category C violation, a student faces suspension or expulsion from the university.

“We will take appropriate and prompt action related to these cases under our code of student conduct, which remains a confidential process consistent with our educational mission,” university spokeswoman Julie Bataille said in an email.

Bataille, Carew and Garrison initially declined to comment on whether Baltazar’s arrest is linked to the ongoing investigation into the DMT lab discovered in Harbin Room 926 early Saturday morning.

On Oct. 27, Bataille said that the university believes the two cases to be unrelated.

“This investigation is separate from another that remains ongoing related to the arrests of two other students, Charles Smith and John Romano, on drug charges over the weekend,” Bataille said in an email. “We are working actively with MPD to understand if there are any connections but at this time believe they are unrelated incidents.”

*Hoya Staff Writers Jonathan Gillis and Eamon O’Connor contributed to this report.

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