Posts Tagged ‘Marietta Times’

UPDATE: $152,000 Bond for MC Student

The Marietta Municipal Court has set bond for Thomas Robison at $152,000, according to this Marietta Times article.

This means that Robison (or friends and family of Robison) may pay only have to pay $15,200 to get out of jail prior to his trial.  However, depending on a October 9 date in court, he may be required to serve 33 days of jail time stemming from a probation violation before being allowed to post bail.

The court also scheduled Robison for a preliminary hearing on October 7.

Marietta College has still made no mention of the crime or their course of action to students, which still worries some students.  While obviously innocent until proven guilty, prior incidents carried swift response for the college.  When Robert Walker’s collection of guns and ammo was found in his car, he was swiftly suspended by the college.

UPDATE: Probation Violation Could Delay Bail

Thomas Robison, the MC student who allegedly stabbed a local man over the weekend, was arraigned today at the Marietta Municipal Court.

According to the report from the Marietta Times, Robison violated the terms of his probation, stemming from a OVI (operating a vehicle while intoxicated) charge he picked up last year.  He received a 33 day suspended sentence, which he would not have had to serve if he had not violated his probation.  Alongside the first-degree felony robbery charge, he was also charged with first-degree misdemeanor probation violation.  This means that he may have to serve the 33 days he was originally charged with before he can post bail.

This news should put many students at ease, since the College has not publicly stated their course of action yet.  But with the potential of 33 days before Robison can post bail, they can now take their time to investigate the situation and formulate a plan of action.

Campus Security Improved at Parsons

An article hit the Marietta Times today about Marietta College’s security enhancements.  They were all put into place over the summer and include the following changes:

• Every hallway has a campus phone
• Every floor of every building has an emergency radio linked to the College’s and NOAA’s emergency alert systems
• Wooden doors have been replaced with metal doors
• Grab-resistant handles installed on doors
• Security screens installed on all first floor windows
• All Card readers are certified as working
• Card Reader placed on entrance to bathroom in a 4th street dorm

This hits me a little bit close to home because I can tell you a few things.  I live in a campus-owned Fraternity house.  And our house has not had security screens installed on the first floor windows.  We don’t have a card reader, metal doors (entrances or room doors), or an emergency call box installed.  We have emergency radios, but not much else.  Our house has had two TV’s stolen from it the past two summers, and every time we ask for security improvements we do not receive them.  The other houses have card reader access, but to not have security screens (as far as I know) or metal doors installed.  Sure, Parsons is safer (which is good, don’t get me wrong), but saying that all campus housing facilities have all of these safety measures is stretching the truth a bit.

Do I feel safe?  Absoultely.  Marietta (and the College) have very little crime to worry about.  However…it would be nice if they did install all safety measures at all campus housing.  Is the campus safer with all of these additions?  Of course it is.  I just would like to see all students protected equally.

The Moose Lodge is No More

Some of you may have heard last Spring that the College had purchased the Moose Lodge.  Immediately the possibilities spun in everybody’s head as to what the college may be doing with the building.  Would it be a new Gathering Place?  Be used for the art department?  Be torn down and used for a new dorm?  A new dining hall?

Well, as it turns out, none of that.  The Physician’s Assistant program had the building gutted and re-configured in what was the least known about campus construction.  While crews raced to finish the Legacy Library and the Planetarium, demolition and construction began within the Moose Lodge.

The new building allows the college to expand the program and allow more students.  30 students were accepted this fall, and 36 more will be admitted to the program next fall.  The program started in 2002 with 15 students, and could only accept 22 students at most.

For more information about the Moose Lodge and its new use, check out the article at the Marietta Times.

Accused Bomb Threat Caller Pleads Not Guilty

The man that is accused of making bomb threats again Marietta College and other locations in the Marietta Area has pleaded not guilty to all charges.  To read more about the story, head over to the Marietta Times article.

Bomb Threat Suspect Indicted

The man that is accused of bomb threats against Marietta College, Wal-Mart, Selby General Hospital, and Marietta Memorial Hospital, now faces six charges worth nine years in jail, if convicted.  The charges include inducing panic and making false alarms.  For more, check out the article at the Marietta Times.

Marietta College Campus Police Takes Heat From Locals

Apparently, the Marietta Times has been really busy writing about the college the past couple days.  And me being busy all weekend prevented me from reporting on it.  Until now.

The Times did a special expose on the Marietta College Campus Police, or CPS as they’re known by on campus.  Now yes, the college has a full-fledged police department.  They have arrest powers, and are allowed to use tasers, tear-gas, pepper spray, and other non-lethal methods to take down people with.  They can investigate crimes and hand off cases to the Marietta Municipal Court for processing and such.  And yes, they can request aid from Marietta Police and Fire/EMS if needed.

The 6 member force operates its own radio frequencies, two police cars with sirens and light arrays, and one golf cart.

But is it too much, or too little?

Today starts a series of posts regarding the quality of our CPS.  I start today dealing with what exactly the Creed is, the Judicial Process the college uses, and possible fines and other consequences.  Tomorrow will focus on the Time’s comparison of Campus Police/Security at various colleges, and Wednesday will focus on whether CPS should be armed with guns/live ammo.

Read more…

Media Coverage Continues on Sexual Assault

Marietta Times and WTAP are now both covering the sexual assault case at the college.

More details have been released, including news that the suspect was sighted at Russell Hall earlier that night.  he apparently gained access to the building and came into contact with some of the residents (according to the linked Marietta Times article).

Past that, no new news.

Please lock all your doors, and don’t hold key-card guarded doors open for anybody.  Don’t walk alone at night and use Campus Police escort services (which are free to all college students).

Update: Sexual Assault on Campus

As many of you may have heard, there was a sexual assault on campus early Saturday morning.  Today, we learned that there was a second crime that happened involving the same suspect.  The notification of the incident is included after the jump, including steps that you can take to stay safe on campus.

The attacks appear to have taken place at Parsons Hall, which in my opinion in one of the worst secured buildings on campus.  You will always have a problem with tailgaters (which is what looks like the suspect’s means of entry), but when the entire first floor is open and un-protected without key-card access, there’s a problem.

The suspect is an African-American male, about 6 feet tall, in his early 20′s, with a muscular build.

Special kudos to the Marietta Times for combining their updated article with stories about the Dow Jones falling and another about the stimulus bill.  One would think an update about a sexual assault without a suspect behind bars would be, I don’t know, SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT.

Sympathy goes out to those affected by this idiot.  It is truly terrible for something like this to have happened.

Read more…

Bomb Threat Suspect Faces Grand Jury

The Marietta Times has an article up discussing the curious case of the man suspected of making five bomb threats in two days.  He has not been charged

Suspect Michael Marshall is facing anywhere from first degree misdemeanor charges that have up to 6 months per count, or up to a second-degree felony that will send him to jail anywhere from 3-8 years per count.

As a side note, stay classy Marietta residents.  Their comments to the newspaper’s website are not called for and completely disrespectful.

Link:  http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/510895.html?nav=5002