UNLV student charged with felony

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

A 19-year-old UNLV student arrested during a controversial campus police dormitory drug raid that netted just a small amount of drugs was charged today with a felony.

Graig Aaron Adler is charged with felony possession of marijuana and Ecstasy. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of one to four years of probation. Prison time also is possible, though not probable as this would be his first offense, the District Attorney's office said today.

Deputy District Attorney Dave Barker, who approved the matter for prosecution today, said the case was filed in Justice Court this morning and a summons will be sent to Adler informing him of a court date.

The charges come on the heels of the revelation Tuesday at a UNLV Campus Public Safety Advisory Committee meeting that four Ecstasy tablets, a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia were found during the March 9 raid on Boyd Hall. Officers had expected to find large amounts of drugs.

The information came from a voluminous report by the Nevada Division of Investigations that UNLV has refused to make public.

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that while his organization does not condone drug use, "from what we do know about this case, we believe that the filing of felony charges is troubling."

ACLU General Counsel Alan Lichtenstein said this case could work against opponents of a measure to make the possession of a small amount of marijuana a misdemeanor, as it is in other states.

Such a bill failed in the last Legislature, but Lichtenstein said a similar bill is slated to be raised at the 2001 session.

"They said prosecutors don't generally prosecute such cases as felonies, but here we have the exact harm of these sort of Draconian drug laws," he said. "Here, in a highly politicized case, it appears authorities have decided to treat this individual more harshly than they would treat other individuals."

Lichtenstein added that the decision to file felony charges could backfire against the university in its attempt to keep the investigative report secret.

If the case goes to trial, he said, the student's attorney could demand a copy of the state report as "crucial evidence" in his defense, which could make it public record.

However, he said, the defendant also could be so scared of a felony conviction, he'd gladly take whatever misdemeanor plea is offered, ending the matter.

The State Peace Officers Council said after the raid that 18 baggies of a powdery substance thought to be opium were recovered by campus police. Lab tests found that the bags contained fragrant talcum powder.