Updated: Georgetown University Students Arrested During Hurricane Irene

Updated 12:40 p.m. Thursday

Two Georgetown University students were arraigned Monday and charged with unlawful entry and misdemeanor destruction of property under $1000. A third student was arraigned Tuesday in absentia and charged with destruction of property under $1000; he was in the hospital for a broken leg.

All three students pled not guilty and asserted their rights to a trial. A misdemeanor initial status hearing is set for Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m.

The three defendants are Eric Pilch, Sam Buckley and John Flanagan.

Flanagan is a Georgetown Voice reporter and was an of the working group on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission redistricting process, proposing his own plan to give students greater representation in local government.

Original Post

Three Georgetown University students were arrested early Sunday during Hurricane Irene after they ignored Public Safety officers' requests to leave the Leavey Center area for safety reasons and their attempts to evade officers in the building resulted in an estimated $1,500 in damage to university property.

The University early Sunday during the hurricane that the New Science Center construction site posed a danger to anyone nearby because of loosened shingles. According to reports in both The Hoya and The Voice, three male students were investigating the damage to the science center when they were told to keep away from an esplanade area of the Leavey Center just after 1 a.m. Sunday. 

According to public safety officials, the students fled into the Leavey Center and locked themselves in a student newspaper office on the fourth floor of the building. Two of the three students were staff members for The Georgetown Voice.

The students attempted to flee officers by crawling through the ceiling tiles. Two were later apprehended, one evidently jumped out the window, falling two stories and is now being treated at .

According to arrest reports on the Metropolitan Police Department public listserv, four men were arrested on the campus and charged with destruction of property early Sunday morning. However, Rachel Pugh a spokesperson for Georgetown University said only three students were arrested in relation to the Leavey Center incident.

"The students refused to comply with repeated, reasonable requests from uniformed Department of Public Safety officers. This required critical resources be diverted during an emergency. While fleeing the officers, the students broke into the ceiling of the Leavey Center" said Pugh.

The blog for The Georgetown Voice, Vox Populi, released an editor's note Wednesday:

"I would like to use this space to make clear, however, that their alleged actions did not in any way reflect the position of the Voice as an organization. As editor-in-chief, I expect all Voice staffers to behave in a legal manner and respect the space and property of the Voice and other organizations. I was extremely disappointed to learn that two people who had been entrusted with positions of responsibility on this paper are accused of acting in such a disrespectful, destructive manner."

The students exacted significiant damage on multiple offices, acccording to Pugh. "MPD responded, and all three students are being charged with violations of D.C. law," she told Patch.

Below is the arrest information on the MPD listserv. Patch is working to obtain additional information from the Second District and will update as it becomes available.

ARREST# : 021136192
DT-TM: 28-AUG-11 - 0113
LOCATION: 3700 O STREET, NW - PSA: 206
OFFENDER: PILCH, E
SEX: M
OFFENSE: DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (FELONY)
TYPE: UNDETERMINED
OFFICER: REESE
------------------------------

-------------
ARREST# : 021136193
DT-TM: 28-AUG-11 - 0250
LOCATION: 3700 0 ST - PSA: 206
OFFENDER: BUCKLEY, S
SEX: M
OFFENSE: DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (FELONY)
TYPE: UNDETERMINED
OFFICER: REESE
-------------------------------------------
ARREST# : 721136191
DT-TM: 28-AUG-11 - 0250
LOCATION: 3700 O STREET, NW - PSA: 206
OFFENDER: PILCH, E
SEX: M
OFFENSE: DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (FELONY)
TYPE: UNDETERMINED
OFFICER: REESE
-------------------------------------------
ARREST# : 021136194
DT-TM: 28-AUG-11 - 0250
LOCATION: 3700 O ST NW - PSA: 206
OFFENDER: FLANAGAN, J
SEX: M
OFFENSE: DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (FELONY)
TYPE: UNDETERMINED
OFFICER: REESE