Charges Follow Lengthy Watch

Editor's Note: Since the publication of this story in September 2006, new information has arisen regarding the case in question. The allegations were proven false, the arrest was expunged, and subsequent police investigations and inquiries by Harvard's Administrative Board concluded that the claims made by the alleged victim in the subsequent story had no basis. At the time of these developments, The Crimson was not notified of the exoneration and therefore did not report on those developments. As such, we provide this note as a way of fully documenting the situation to its eventual conclusion.

Court documents released to the public following last Wednesday’s arraignment of four Harvard undergraduates charged with drug violations revealed that police had been monitoring a DeWolfe room for about three weeks before the night the students were allegedly found using marijuana. Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) was tipped off last December that three students living in DeWolfe were possibly distributing or using marijuana, according to the police report. Detective B. Spellman was instructed on Dec. 17 to “make frequent checks of the dorm for the possible detection of marijuana or visible signs of distribution,” according to the report. “Over the course of the past few weeks, I familiarized myself with the layout of the 10 DeWolfe building and the exact location of [the] room,” Spellman wrote in the police report. Spellman wrote that three weeks later, he walked into the parking lot adjacent to 10 Dewolfe St. and “could smell a strong odor of marijuana emanating from an open second floor window” at about 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6. Four students were charged that night with possession of marijuana. The three students living in DeWolfe—Jason R. Gardner ’07, Nathan O. Simmons ’07, and Mathias G. Gordon ’07—were also charged with intent to distribute and possession within a school zone because a child care center is located one floor below them. According to a Cambridge District Court document, police found and confiscated several bags containing marijuana residue and marijuana accessories. Spellman wrote that he and another officer knocked on the door of the suite that Friday, saying that they needed to discuss the smell of marijuana coming from the room. The reports state that Gardner opened the door “fully voluntarily [sic]” and walked away in the direction of the kitchen. According to the report, Simmons did not deny that there were drugs in his room. “It was clear that we were smoking in here but we just smoked it all,” Simmons allegedly said. Spellman found “a decent amount of what appeared to be marijuana leaves and stems,” in Simmons’ room, according to the report. Simmons allegedly pointed out a black container in his closet, which he said contained his supply of marijuana. “It is only an eigth [of an ounce],” Simmons allegedly said. Gardner initially denied having drugs in his room, Spellman wrote, but after police saw marijuana leaves in open sight, Gardner showed the officer his supply that he said he kept in his freezer. Gordon allegedly admitted that he had drugs in his room, as well as a large glass bong, smoking pipes, and a bag marked, “Hash Plant.” Spellman also stated that he found a medical cannabis container and a prescription bottle for sleeping pills in Gordon’s room. The responding officers reportedly summoned Administrative Board Secretary John L. Ellison, an Eliot House resident dean and two Eliot House resident advisors. Eliot resident tutor Canh P. Vu declined to comment. Resident Dean Oona B. Ceder and resident tutor Kevin M. Knoblock, who were named in court documents, did not return requests for comment. When the officers attempted to conduct individual interviews with the students, Zoe A. Strominger ’07, who does not live in the DeWolfe suite, was the only student who spoke with the officers. Strominger told the officers that she had purchased a bag of marijuana for $45 earlier that night, according to the police report. “I came here and I bought the drugs from Jason,” she allegedly said. Gordon’s lawyer David Duncan, Gardner’s lawyer Austin Tzeng, and Simmons’ lawyer Chris Dearborn all declined to comment yesterday. At last Wednesday’s arraignment, all four defendants pled not guilty. —Staff writer Rebecca M. Anders may be reached at rmanders@fas.harvard.edu.