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

Two Drug Lab Suspects Face Charges; Romano Released

John Romano (COL ’14), resident of Harbin Hall Room 926 – the epicenter of Saturday’s drug lab bust – was released Monday and will not face charges, according to his lawyer. Romano’s roommate, Charles Smith (SFS ’14), and University of Richmond freshman John Perrone, are being held without bond and face federal charges of “conspiracy to manufacture” and “possession with intent to distribute” the drug DMT.

According to The Washington Post, Smith informed officials that Romano was not involved in any illegal activity after they both had been taken into custody. The Washington City Paper also alleged that Perrone is suspected to have an even greater hand in the drug lab, after his car yielded more evidence of intent to manufacture.

An article in The Washington Post today reported that an official had found the suspects’ drug lab as the result of a tip from a student who had supposedly been dealt “K2,” or synthetic marijuana, by the suspects. This report conflicts with Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson’s confirmation Monday that a student caller contacted the Department of Public Safety early Saturday morning, with “information that there were individuals selling drugs from Room 926,\” according to the affidavit filed by Officer Alvin Cardinal of the Metropolitan Police Department. On Saturday, a specialist in the Office of Communications initially confirmed the call to DPS was based on a suspicious odor coming from a ninth-floor Harbin room.

The official, who spoke to the Post anonymously due to the ongoing investigation, said that he came across a student smoking what appeared to be marijuana early Saturday morning. Upon confronting the student, the officer was told that the substance was K2, a mixture of green leaves treated with chemicals that mimics the effects of marijuana; the drug is legal in the District and in other states. After the officer asked where the student had obtained the substance, the student led the officer to Harbin 926. The officer said the investigation continued from there, leading to the eventual evacuation and arrests.

Some Harbin 9 residents told The Hoya on Saturday morning that they did not originally believe the lab was meant for methamphetamine, as was initially reported by several news outlets, as the residents of Harbin 926 were allegedly known to be distributing K2.

Upon reaching the room, the officer said Romano opened the door; Smith and Perrone were in the room at the time. A DPS search of the room unveiled “a zip locks [sic] containing a green plant substance, a carbon dioxide cannister [sic], homemade smoking devices, a grinder, a jar containing a red liquid substance, and a styrofoam cooler with dry ice and several jars containing a clear liquid substance.” The report continued, “Also, found was a suitcase that had a strong chemical odor and contained ammonia, salt, lighter fluid, rubber gloves and a turkey baster.”

The official who spoke with the Post added that five capsules containing alleged DMT were also found, and that police believe the DMT was intended to be sprinkled on the “green plant substance,” suspected to be K2, and then smoked. According to the officer, users frequently hide DMT in normal capsules and then break them onto marijuana leaves before smoking the mix.

The official also holds that police believe the carbon dioxide was being used for a process called “huffing,” by which users get high by depriving themselves of oxygen and only inhaling carbon dioxide. According to Washington City Paper, an envelope full of $1,300 in cash was also found.

Perrone’s Jeep Nissan, parked close to Harbin, was also searched that morning. Officials found more broken capsules with suspected traces of DMT in the car, according to the Post’s source. A box for mason jars with one remaining inside was also found. The lone jar was a match to the 11 found in Room 926, six of which were filled with chemicals of a clear, light substance.

When MPD and D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived on the scene Saturday, they confirmed Room 926 contained hazardous materials and then ordered Harbin’s evacuation, according to Cardinal’s report. “[A Drug Enforcement Administration expert then] indicated that the chemicals in the room appeared to be precursor chemicals used in a clandestine laboratory used to make or manufacture illegal narcotics,” the charging document read.

According to the document, when Smith told a law enforcement officer he thought it was a “DMT lab,” the specialist from the DEA informed Cardinal of the high risks posed by the lab.

“The DEA expert told me that the combination of chemicals present in the room were in themselves potentially highly flammable and explosive, and thus highly dangerous,” Cardinal said.

At the University of Richmond, where Perrone is a freshman, police searched Perrone’s dorm room after the campus safety department received a call from MPD, according to The Collegian, Richmond’s student newspaper.

The search did not yield anything out of the ordinary in Perrone’s residence, Richmond’s Director of Media and Public Relations Brian Eckert told The Collegian.

According to Richmond campus police Capt. Beth Simonds, the university police was not affiliated with the arrest at Georgetown or the ongoing investigation. At Richmond, however, Eckert said violation of federal or state law regulating illegal drug use is a violation of the student code of conduct.

“If this were proven to be the case, the student would be subject to judicial action here,” Eckert told The Collegian.

My heart goes out to the other clients and their families, who were not as fortunate as my client,” Romano’s lawyer, Larry Gondelman (LAW ’77), said in a Q-and-A following the suspects’ arraignment at the U.S. District Court for D.C. on Monday afternoon. Gondelman said that prosecutors had gone “pretty hard on the other two [Smith and Perrone]” during today’s hearing.

“Romano is doing remarkably well,” Gondelman said, adding that he was not sure if his client would be returning to Georgetown. In an interview with student press on Thursday, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson declined to comment on the Office of Student Conduct’s ongoing investigation into the matter.

A detention and preliminary hearing for Smith and Perrone is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

*Hoya Staff Writer Lauren Weber contributed to this report.*

*Photos of John Romano’s (COL ’14) lawyer fielding questions from reporters on Monday can be found on The Hoya’s Facebook page: https://on.fb.me/cdEexy*

*Check www.thehoya.com for the results of Wednesday’s hearing and more updates. For any news tips, contact editorthehoya.com.*

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