On Tuesday night, just two days after the Metropolitan Police Department made its first drug-related arrest on Georgetown’s campus since 2005, another resident of Harbin Hall, Kelly Baltazar (COL ’14), was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Baltazar was arrested on Tuesday after the Department of Public Safety notified members of the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division of MPD that she was “selling marijuana on the Georgetown campus,” according to a police report. MPD found a “green weed like substance which was field tested and yielded a positive reaction for the presence of THC.”
University spokesperson Julie Green Bataille said that Baltazar’s arrest was unrelated to the Saturday morning arrests of Charles Smith (SFS ’14), John Romano (COL ’14), and University of Richmond student John Peronne, which also took place in Harbin Hall. Romano has been released and will not face charges.
“We are actively working with MPD to understand if there are any connections, but at this time believe they are unrelated incidents,” Bataille wrote in an email.
Bataille said that “many people have been working longer shifts than usual in order to address recent events,” but would not confirm whether DPS had made any policy changes since Saturday’s incident.
DPS has not typically worked with MPD to address drug-related incidents on campus. Joseph Smith, Georgetown’s associate director of Public Safety, wrote in an email last February that the majority of drug incidents are handled by DPS and adjudicated to the Office of Student Conduct. Before this week, there had been a total of four drug-related arrests since 2003.
When she was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon at the D.C. Superior Court, she pled not guilty to charges of unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and the sale of drug paraphernalia. She was released from custody and advised to undergo drug testing and treatment.
Brian Heberlig, Baltazar’s lawyer, said that she will be meeting with the head of the University’s student disciplinary board on Friday.
According to the Student Code of Conduct, possession of a controlled substance is a Category B violation, and intent to distribute a controlled substance is a Category C violation. Category C violations typically result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Baltazar’s next hearing will be held on November 19 at D.C. Superior Court. Both charges, which are misdemeanors, are punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or a prison term of up to six months.
