On Thursday Washington University police identified six students believed to have played a role in vandalizing the rooms of two RAs on Lee 3.
Four of the suspects were booked at the St. Louis County Jail on burglary charges, while two others were released pending the status of an application for warrants. All six are freshmen residents of Lee.
Police Chief Don Strom said officers had identified several “persons of interest” early on in the investigation, and that police had “continued to plug away” despite some students’ attempts to stonewall their progress.
“We have interviewed a large number of people, some who were witnesses, some who were participants, and based on the compilation of those interviews, we feel confident that we have identified most of the people involved,” said Strom, although he would not rule out the possibility of others being arrested.
These interviews provided the basis for the arrests, rather than an analysis of the physical evidence. However, Strom said police “believed” they knew which suspect had defecated in the female RA’s room-although he said it was unlikely that this act of defecation would carry with it additional charges.
The police force says it will soon ask the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to consider filing formal criminal charges against the suspects. Strom said the students face a possible felony charge of burglary. The six individuals will also be referred to the University’s Judicial Administrator, who will assess whether the students violated University policies.
So far, County Police have refused requests to release records related to the booking of the four individuals at the County Jail-a refusal that Student Life deems a flagrant violation of Missouri’s open records laws.
Editor’s note: The police’s refusal to release records to Student Life was later revealed to be a jurisdictional issue. The police were not in possession of the records in question. Student Life apologizes for the error. (Apr. 6, 2005)
The six students are suspected of breaking into the rooms of the two RAs on Lee 3 on the night of Friday, March 18. The students then allegedly committed acts of vandalism, in part by defecating in the female RA’s bedroom.
There is an unconfirmed report that about a dozen Lee 3 residents moved off the floor this weekend to another dormitory on campus. Some of the students reportedly chose to leave Lee, while others were forced to pack up and move.