Alex Byers

This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Kira Brekke.

A man arrested for unlawful entry after violating a restraining order held by a student has been missing for more than month and there is an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest.

Shane Stephen Conrad, a 19-year-old Orange County resident, was arrested on Sept. 15 after his ex-girlfriend, a GW student, spotted him entering the GW mail packaging room, a violation of a restraining order which bars him from entering GW property, according to court documents.

The student, whose name is being withheld due to privacy concerns, called the University Police Department and officers identified Conrad as someone who had been barred from campus, University Police Chief Dolores Stafford said.

Conrad was due in D.C. Superior Court court on Oct. 1, but failed to show up, according to court documents. Judge Elizabeth Wingo issued a bench warrant for his arrest, and his bond is set at $250 cash.

The student said she and Conrad met in high school and dated for two years, but things quickly turned unpleasant for the former couple when he moved to D.C. She said she filed a restraining order in California where she spent her summer, but he returned to D.C. in the fall and she then filed another order in D.C.

Sheila Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said police do not actively search for defendants like Conrad, but that he would be returned to court if he was stopped by police and a search on his name was performed.

Donna Beasely, Conrad’s attorney, did not return requests for comment.

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Harald Olsen.

A man arrested for stealing a student’s bike on F Street near Potomac House pleaded guilty last month to second degree theft, and must complete drug testing and drug treatment as part of his probation.

Mark Curry, 42, was arrested on Sept. 9 after he stole a student’s Specialized Cross Trail bicycle, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 9, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. That sentence was suspended by Judge Bruce Beaudin in lieu of one year supervised probation and a $42.00 fine.

University Police Department officers apprehended Curry a few blocks away from where he had taken the bicycle. According to court documents, an officer observed him “reaching into the front of his pants,” and found a pair of wire cutters. Curry was also carrying bolt cutters in his backpack, and was originally charged with possession of implements of crime, a misdemeanor. That charge was dropped when Curry pleaded guilty.

According to court documents, the student who owned the bike was able to provide a receipt for the bike, valued at $400 and told UPD that he did not know Curry or give him permission to take the bike. As part of his sentence, Curry is required to stay away from the victim and the area near the intersection of 20th Street and F.

Curry’s attorney, Frank Nieves-Fernandez, declined to comment.

Update, 7:11 p.m.

Senior Royal Gethers returned to campus early Monday morning, after lack of contact with friends prompted them to file missing persons reports with both city and University police over the weekend.

Gethers said Monday evening that he had gone with a girl to Virginia, but that he stopped at a friend’s house in Maryland and left his phone there.

The senior said he is “remorseful” about the situation and is sorry he put his friends through a traumatic experience this weekend, but said “right now it’s kind of hysterical,” referring to his experience seeing himself on the front page of Monday morning’s Hatchet.

“It’s fine, I love them,” Gethers said referring to his friends who began the search for him. “Even though when I saw the paper today I started busting out laughing, but at the same time I thought I had great friends on my side.”

Gethers’ roommate told Monet Flowers, a former student who helped coordinate the search,  that he had not seen Gethers early Saturday morning. But Gethers said he returned to his room and had a 15-minute conversation with his roommate before heading out to Virginia for the weekend.

“I told  him I was leaving for the weekend and I get back and I’m in The Hatchet,” Gethers said.

Gethers said he questions why the University did not review security tapes to see that he had in fact entered his residence hall the evening of his thought-to-be disappearance.

University Police Chief Dolores Stafford did not respond to questions Monday regarding when and to what extent UPD got involved with the search.

Flowers said a friend had gone to Gethers’ 8 a.m. class to see if he would be there this morning. One of Gethers’ roommates called her shortly before 8 a.m. to say he had returned. The friend also confirmed that Gethers had made it to class, Flowers said.

Gethers posted a message at 7:47 a.m. this morning on the Facebook group created after he was said to be missing, apologizing for making his friends worry.

Flowers said she was happy Gethers was safe, but added “he needs to be embarrassed all day long.”

“I’m so happy. I’m so glad that he’s safe and I’m so happy that we are all gonna go to his room and yell at him for doing this,” she said Monday morning.

Lt. Ralph Neal of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District said he had not yet heard from the friends of Gethers that had filed the missing persons report, but said that situations where a missing person simply returns are not uncommon.

Emily Cahn contributed to this report

Those with parents (and cars) in town, beware: the roads on campus are filled to capacity with gridlocked vehicles.

Thanks to a third-straight day of rain and the 2009 Bike DC event, traffic on and around campus is extremely difficult to navigate. The Washington Post’s Get There blog has a list of road closures, and while most are said to end around 10:30, lingering traffic may continue to tie up the area.

As bad as the weather is outside, you’re still better off walking if you want to get anywhere in a timely manner.

This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writer Madeleine Morgenstern.

The Student Association senate passed a resolution Tuesday in support of attaining the 100,000 hours of community service that first lady Michelle Obama promised would bring her to campus for Commencement this year.

While the Student Service Act does not specifically reference Obama or commencement, much of the senate’s discussion involved the first lady’s pledge.

Sen. Dan Sadlosky, ESIA-U, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the resolution is meant only to express support for community service. He added that he wants to encourage student organizations to credit their service hours toward the 100,000-hour goal.

“I hope that it will strengthen the commitment that the Student Association and student body has to doing more community service,” Sadlosky said.

Debate stalled over a clause that urges the University to hold “reoccurring University-wide ‘Days of Service’ throughout the year.”
Sen. Logan Dobson, CCAS-U, said encouraging GW to spend more money while already in debt was “a little whacky.”

Sadlosky said he understood these concerns, but said he felt “Days of Service” would help mobilize and coordinate student service efforts throughout the year.

“This does not call for the University to spend money,” Sadlosky said. “Merely to help coordinate or advertise if they would like to at no cost, which I would prefer.”

Sen. Tom Fogarty, SMHS-G, voiced his opposition to having the first lady speak at all.

“I think we can do better than Michelle Obama and I don’t think we should support this,” Fogarty said.
Read more…