Second Sophomore in Drug Case Arraigned

Editor's Note: As of 2009, both felony charges against Siebach were dismissed in court.

Police filed drug-related charges against a second Harvard undergraduate on Wednesday, Mar. 22, almost a month after an incident in Quincy House that prompted the arraignment of another student.

Steven R. Duque ’08 will face criminal complaints including two counts of assault and battery of a police officer, possession of a Class D controlled substance, and forgery, according to an update posted recently to the police log of the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD).

The charges stem from an altercation between Duque and two HUPD officers on Friday, Feb. 24. The officers arrived at Quincy’s C entryway in response to reports that a nude male was acting strangely, according to an e-mail from HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano originally sent on Feb. 25. That statement did not identify Duque by name, saying only that HUPD would release it once the student in question was arraigned.

Upon arrival, the officers issued verbal commands to Duque to stop his behavior. Duque did not respond, initiating a struggle that turned violent. He admitted at the time that he was under the influence of drugs.

“The officers then attempted to stop him by physically grabbing him,” Catalano said. “The student was extremely sweaty and slipped from the officer’s grasp. The male then ran down the hall and attempted to get into a door.”

He added that after being unable to get inside, the student ran back to the officers, who continued to “issue verbal commands for him to stop.”

“The individual refused to stop and struck both officers in the face and head,” he said.

After subduing Duque, the officers found a pair of pants containing a bag of what was allegedly marijuana. The pants were believed to belong to Duque.

“The forgery charge was related to a fake id confiscated that night,” wrote Catalano in an e-mail yesterday.

Duque’s roommate, Soren J. Siebach ’08, was arrested the same night on charges of possession of LSD and marijuana, as well as a drug law violation in a school zone. Police found the drugs in the students’ suite, which they visited after sending Duque to the hospital.

Police did not immediately file charges against Duque.

“A decision was made at the scene to deal with the first individual’s medical issues first and then deal with the criminal charges at a later date,” Catalano wrote in an email sent Feb. 26.

—Staff writer Marianne F. Kaletzky can be reached at kaletzky@fas.harvard.edu.