Two students are facing drug charges after police seized marijuana, cocaine and drug paraphernalia from a Foggy Bottom townhouse last month in a raid that yielded five student arrests.
Senior Brett Reisman has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and senior James Donoghue has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine. Both pleaded innocent when they were arraigned Oct. 31.
During the raid – which occurred the evening of Oct. 30 at a townhouse at 26th and I streets – police seized $1,171 in cash, three plastic bags of a substance that tested positive for cocaine, about 160 grams of marijuana, a scale, and plastic baggies, according to police reports and court documents. Court filings said state officers also confiscated a gray safe, a ledger, multiple pipes, cell phones, and IDs.
Two other students, whose names are being withheld because they have not been formally charged with a crime, were arrested for possession of marijuana. A third individual, a student arrested for cocaine possession, also has not been charged.
At a status hearing for Reisman and Donoghue Wednesday, prosecutors said the other three arrested individuals – who were released with citations for simple drug possession – will be arraigned Dec.1. Reisman and Donoghue are due back in court Dec. 14.
A search warrant filed in D.C. Superior Court states that a Metropolitan Police Department officer had probable cause to believe there was marijuana and other narcotics at the property, along with “records relating to narcotics distribution.”
Reisman, a 21-year-old resident of New Jersey, and Donoghue, a 20-year-old New York resident, did not respond to requests for comment. Reisman’s attorney, Christopher Casey, wrote in an e-mail earlier this month: “The facts will show that Brett is innocent of the charges.” He declined to comment further.
Two young men who answered the door at the residence last Sunday declined to comment.
Officers from MPD’s Third District’s vice unit who executed the warrant declined to comment on the matter. University Police Chief Dolores Stafford said the case is being handled by MPD.
