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Twelve Loyola students sanctioned, cited in raid at popular local establishment

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Four officers from Loyola University’s Campus Police were posted outside of Favorites Pub on Thursday night, December 5.

“We got to the bar at around 10 p.m.—no one was really there, which we thought was kind of fishy, but we sat down,” said an anonymous Loyola student.

At approximately 10:45 p.m., Loyola Police officers and a lieutenant of the Northern District Baltimore City Police Department entered the popular undergraduate bar and retrieved 15 underage patrons with fake IDs, 12 of whom were Loyola students. Each student was issued a $250 fine and must complete an educational program offered by ADESS (Alcohol and Drug Education and Support Services). As for BCPD’s sanctions, the students were charged with a traffic violation for carrying fictitious identification. All offenders received court dates, and failure to appeal could result in an arrest warrant (since altering government documents is also a federal offense).

This raid of the infamous Craig’s bar was the first casualty in what will likely become a pattern now that Loyola Police and BCPD are entwined in a partnership. But law enforcement isn’t the only component in the alliance; representatives from the police, universities and bars have been coalescing since October to address neighborhood concerns and an escalating pattern of underage drinking in the city.

“What can we do to put a little more effort, a little more fear in students that if they are underage and have fake IDs, they could get checked at the bar by someone other than a bouncer?” asked Colonel Timothy Fox, director of Public Safety at Loyola. It might sound harsh, but Fox explained that if a student is compliant, this system is less painful than being carted down to Central Booking by BCPD.

Anonymous said he was the first student to hand over his fake ID. “I personally never get in trouble—I’m usually a good kid,” he said, explaining that most of the students resisted giving up their IDs, even “sassing” the officers and provoking threats to take them downtown.

After BCPD collected their IDs, Loyola Police brought the 12 students back to the campus station for an hour and a half meeting. Some of the students who were less distraught decided to take Snapchat videos in the station. “I just sat there and I was like wow, this sucks,” said anonymous. “I really love it here [at Loyola] and I don’t want to go on academic probation.”

While the maximum sentence for the students’ traffic violation is a $500 fine or 60 days behind bars, under other violations, there’s a risk of license suspension or up to 12 points. “I feel like I’ll probably end up with a fine and required community service,” said anonymous.

Some of the involved students have chosen to take a public defender for their case, but anonymous is getting a lawyer, hoping to dismiss the charges from his criminal record. He actually contacted Loyola’s attorney for a recommendation, and he’s paying all the fines himself and splitting the lawyer’s $1,000 fee with his parents until he can reimburse them. His Maryland court date is February 13, and thus far there have been no charges from his home state or the state his fake ID was from.

“I think it was handled in a fair way. You have to own up to it and say I know what I did was wrong,” he said. Anonymous said he is able to handle the situation now, but it was challenging during finals week. He knows that one student involved transferred out of Loyola. However, while students are more anxious now, the bar-hopping hasn’t dwindled. “A lot of my friends still go to Craig’s, Murphy’s and Maxie’s,” said anonymous. “I haven’t gone out since. I’m not going if I don’t feel comfortable—probably not until at least after my court date.”

Legal ramifications are quite real, but so are social pressures. “Go out, man up—it’s not going to happen again, you were unlucky,” is some of the feedback anonymous has received from his peers.

“I don’t want to generalize, but it seems like the first-year class’s perception of Loyola’s social life is skewed toward the idea that the whole school is going out every weekend,” said Vicky Miciotta, a senior Messina Evergreen. “I think people forget that you always hear about the loudest people rather than the quieter folks staying in or going to campus events.”

According to Fox, the possibility is high that there will be another joint Loyola-BCPD raid in the coming weeks. “I wouldn’t venture to say where, but likely not Craig’s again,” he said, though BCPD allegedly busted Craig’s independently last Friday night. The next target could be Murphy’s, it could be Zen—it could even be Power Plant.

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  • W

    Website scriptsSep 19, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    Been looking for this article for long time ago and finally found here. thanks for sharing this post. appreciate!

    Reply
  • N

    neighborhoodApr 13, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    Yep, bust em. Take em to Central Booking for the night. They’ll transfer to a NJ/NY/PA/CT/MA community college before they’re even bailed out.

    Reply
  • K

    Kirsten SmithJan 26, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

    Reply
  • B

    BaneJan 25, 2015 at 8:06 am

    “This raid of the infamous Craig’s bar was the first casualty in what will likely become a pattern now that Loyola Police and BCPD are entwined in a partnership. But law enforcement isn’t the only component in the alliance; representatives from the police, universities and bars have been coalescing since October to address neighborhood concerns and an escalating pattern of underage drinking in the city.”

    Is this the Loyola director of security explicitly acknowledging a conspiracy between the BCPD, the Loyola Security Guards (who have no legal authority outside of campus), administrators from “other universities” to stage dragnet stings on bars (which may also be participating in this “alliance” themselves) in order stage mass arrests and interrogations seeking to place charges on any persons found to be under the legal drinking age? These inquisitions are also to be staffed by men in security uniforms with zero legal authority to conduct any invasions of private property, questioning people who they ostensibly have no way of establishing are actually students of the University they are employed to patrol?

    Are they conducting surveillance on students who they simply suspect of engaging in underage drinking? Loyola PD keeping a searchable database of students faces, names, and ages on their person for surreptitious identification and citation of violating community standards? How can the police legally arrest, transport, and then transfer legal possession these individuals into the hands of an extrajudicial entity?

    “According to Fox, the possibility is high that there will be another joint Loyola-BCPD raid in the coming weeks. “I wouldn’t venture to say where, but likely not Craig’s again,” he said, though BCPD allegedly busted Craig’s independently last Friday night. The next target could be Murphy’s, it could be Zen—it could even be Power Plant.”

    Can’t wait for the lawsuits to start flying over this. Loyola’s “Univeristy Judicial Process” (tribunals) are not going to be able to extort compliance and silence at pain of ruinous financial penalties on this one. Over 100 students whose identities are being kept “anonymous” after being jailed on a dozen school buses and prevented from leaving the parking lot without providing student and legal identification to the hall monitors. Their ages were established in this illegal detention process, The Kangaroo University Judicial Process is going to be backlogged for days.

    This spectacular display of civil rights violations and criminal racketeering by the police Loyola, and the “other universities” administration is going to be so costly to the state that Washington might just extend the district lines 44 miles west and cite sovereign immunity.

    I hope you students currently enrolled at LOYU have made sure your credits are already transferred.

    Reply
    • C

      Carl JonesApr 17, 2017 at 2:23 am

      You were right in your reporting: Loyola University Campus Police (SPOs) lack legal authority to perform raid functions off campus grounds and properties as the organization is not a public police department. Given the Security Director sanctioned such reckless conduct, he should have been terminated. Moreover, the SPOs transported students and detained them at their station – ignorant organization.

      Reply
  • T

    tonyJan 23, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    I.am the.bouncer at craigs.and we did.everything possible to stop kids from getting in with fake ids. This shut.down is complete bull.

    Reply
  • C

    CaitMar 11, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    At another “raid” of craig’s my sister who was not drinking nor was carrying a fake was brought to the campus police station, now two weeks later they are punishing her for violating a state, local or federal law regardless of if a conviction is obtained, as per the community code. First off guilty for being accused is a new policy and one which exposes any student of this private university to be kicked out at any time at the universities will. Additionally, the school has not determined what law has been broken but has given the students only 24 hours to respond that they will accept the punishment and be subject to alcohol classes, a monetary fine and probation or stand trail for what they aren’t sure yet. The school has a vendetta against Craig’s who ultimately is responsible for complying with the state, federal and local liquor laws, it isn’t the responsibility or a 19 year old who walks into an establishment that holds a class B (restaurant) liquor license to know she has to leave before 9pm as far as I can tell in the 15 minutes of research that I’ve done isn’t a law that she can be punished under. Loyola is putting their students at risk in order to get rid of Craig’s an institution they have a negative history with and in doing so they are encouraging students to go further off campus in turn are compromising their safety. The schools behavior will encourage students to seek the police and a court of law rather then the university in the future which again potentially puts students into harms way and will weighs down the Baltimore county judicial system with loads of unfounded citations. I don’t have a solution to the problem of students drinking too much an epidemic which to my knowledge is almost exclusive to the US. What I do know is going after a local bar which the university feels stains their reputation is not the way nor is trying to scare students per the quote by the head of campus security. Change society or change policy but trying to “scare” students isn’t American it isn’t Catholic and it isn’t working.

    Reply
  • D

    Daniel GormyJan 24, 2014 at 1:51 pm

    “BCPD allegedly busted Craig’s independently last Friday night”… This is incorrect. I find it strange that nobody from craigs was contacted to speak in this article. Not only are many of the “facts” incorrect but not asking for a quote from any employees just seems strange to me.

    Reply
  • A

    anonymousJan 24, 2014 at 2:55 am

    To be honest this article is a great “warning” for the entire undergrad student body at Loyola, but I do not agree with this story’s placement within this commonly read newspaper which happens to be distributed around the city. Not only has this article shown the many consequences of underage drinking, but it actually represents the ugly truth of “the college experience.” Lets be real here, the cops know about all of these bars and what they do and who they let in every weekend. Many of these places are commonly associated with Loyola’s weekend reputation and actually sell the school to future greyhounds making their college decision based on a really good night out at one of these chosen places. This is really no surprise though. Every school has their own version of “the college experience” and everyone of these includes some kind of underage drinking. So why is Loyola’s campus police and Baltimore PD teaming up now and how will this really benefit the school’s reputation? By putting this story in the public eye, I believe that the school will see more harm than good reputation-wise. Realistically though, will all of this really stop underage drinking at Loyola? Or will it just cause more drinking on campus?

    Reply
    • C

      Cham GreenJan 24, 2014 at 6:36 pm

      The reporter is following the tenets of journalism, to prove readership with news that interests and affects them. Ms. Rucknel does not appear to work for the Loyola University public relations department. If Loyola students wish to keep their heads in the sand because news of student arrests places the university in a bad light then the readership won’t learn about police enforcement of local and state laws. Students will have to weather the consequences of underage drinking with potential future arrests, public scrutiny and personal criminal histories just like every other Maryland criminal. Good luck finding employment with a criminal history that advertises a substance abuse challenge.

      Reply
      • A

        anonymousJan 24, 2014 at 10:01 pm

        Well judging from your defensive response on an issue that has nothing to do with the general public, it seems that it has already affected the school’s reputation immensely. As I mentioned before, every school deals with this and takes care of it in their own way, but inevitably, actions such as these will not completely stop underage drinking. Sure it will certainly scare a good handful of students, but putting an end to this nationwide trend is not going to happen.

        Reply
      • D

        DanJan 27, 2014 at 7:42 pm

        Ms. Rucknel also wrote this whole article from one students perspective it seems. As someone who was closely involved in this incident I can say that this reporter has gotten her facts all wrong. I find it strange that no one from the bars was asked to speak on this. And lets at least place the blame where it belongs; the students. If those kids really did get cited, and to be honest I believe only one girl did, then the only one they can blame for that is themselves. Why doesn’t Loyola try to stop these fake IDs? A bouncer can only do so much. I watch the bouncer at Craig’s not only reference a book on ID’s, but also do black light tests and ask questions. What else can one do? If an ID has all the appropriate things he cant be held responsible. Its ludicrous what is happening to these establishments and almost downright harassment by the Baltimore City Police and Fire depts. Another incorrect part of the piece was where she wrote that Craig’s was shutdown by BCPD last weekend. Actually this was a Fire Marshall and nothing to do with the police or liquor board. He claimed the bars permits were expired but as you can see by the fact the bar was open the next day, they were not. Baltimore City enforcement officers are doing this because of stress from Loyola to put these establishments out of business. If it is underage drinking they are going after, why not raid Power Plant on a thursday? Because Power plant has MONEY is why. Shutting down places like Craigs and Murphys will do nothing more then push kids to places like Downtown Baltimore and Uptown Towson. Good luck with that…

        Reply
    • D

      DanJan 27, 2014 at 7:48 pm

      I disagree with “what they do, and who they let in”. I would like to see you work the door for a club and see how many fakes get past you. The bouncers at Craigs do blacklight checks and reference a book on IDs. You can be the best bouncer in the world but when you are being handed 50 different IDs that change every year, of course some will make it past you. Ids are not what they were even 5 years ago. They have holograms and show up under black light. They check out in every way possible.

      Reply
  • C

    Cham GreenJan 22, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    Why are Loyola students being given special treatment? Using a fraudulent ID and underage drinking is a criminal offense in the state of Maryland. If these students were identified by the Baltimore City Police then the charges should be handled exclusively through the city criminal system. If these Loyola students were to be detained they should have been detained and processed at Central Booking. This is bias and special treatment.

    Reply
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Twelve Loyola students sanctioned, cited in raid at popular local establishment