Pubdate: Sun, 24 Feb 2002
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2002 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Mike Soraghan and Ryan Morgan, Denver Post
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n316/a04.html

BARNES-GELT'S SON CHARGED IN D.C. DRUG RAID

WASHINGTON - Police in ski masks pounded on a Washington dorm room door in 
a late-night raid last week, and what they found rocked one of Denver's 
most prominent political families.

Ben Gelt, 20, who led a post-Columbine gun control campaign all the way to 
the White House, found himself in a District of Columbia jail Thursday 
after being arrested in his dorm. He was charged with misdemeanor 
possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The arrest stunned Gelt's well-known parents, Denver City Councilwoman 
Susan Barnes-Gelt and former Colorado Democratic Party chairman Howard 
Gelt. Barnes-Gelt has been mentioned as a potential candidate for mayor.

"This whole thing is heartbreaking," Barnes-Gelt said Saturday. ""He's 
screwed up, big time. He's already spent what I hope was an extremely 
unpleasant night in jail. Even though this is a misdemeanor, there will be 
serious, serious consequences."

Five others were arrested in the raid at the dorm at American University. 
It capped a monthlong undercover investigation by Washington police sparked 
by a tip from a confidential source. Police say they are investigating a 
network that has supplied marijuana, Ecstasy and opium to American and 
other capital-area universities.

Both of Ben Gelt's parents, who are divorced, said their son was a "good 
kid" who'd committed a serious error in judgment.

"He's done some significant things in his life," Howard Gelt said. "This is 
an aberrant thing. It's just something that happened that's not indicative 
of his character."

Barnes-Gelt said her son was most worried about how his 88-year-old 
grandmother would react when she found out. Gelt could not be reached for 
comment Saturday.

Gelt was released from jail on his own recognizance after a court 
appearance Friday afternoon, but American University has kicked him off 
campus. The charges could result in expulsion, but his parents are trying 
hard to keep him in school, at least until the end of the semester.

Howard Gelt flew to Washington on Saturday to assist his son and scold him, 
Barnes-Gelt said.

Gelt was an 18-year-old senior at East High School in 1999 when the 
Columbine High School massacre inspired him to join the budding gun-control 
group SAFE, or Sane Alternatives to the Firearms Epidemic. With friend 
David Winkler, he formed SAFE Students.

They organized 94 students from 31 Colorado schools to travel to 
Washington, where they lobbied Congress and had a private meeting with 
then-President Clinton.

Gelt also wrote opinion articles for The Denver Post advocating what he and 
other members of SAFE called "simple, common-sense gun regulations." He 
delayed college for a year while he traveled the country talking to 
students about youth violence. His activism later helped convince American 
University officials to accept him to the private school in Northwest 
Washington.

He remained active in student activities and gun control issues and even 
formed a football league. The week before his arrest, he'd participated in 
a Rock the Vote Youth Summit televised on MTV.

But he also participated in other activities.

"I am aware that Ben has been a mild user of marijuana," Barnes-Gelt said. 
But Howard Gelt said charging his son with trafficking drugs was "just a 
little" over the top.

Gelt was arrested with five other men in a late-night raid of four 
dormitories on the campus by a special team of police in ski masks. They 
pounded on the door with search warrants, handcuffed the students and 
searched the rooms.

Officers seized opium, marijuana, one vehicle and $15,000 in cash. 
Officials said they expect to arrest more people, and said Gelt could be 
charged with additional crimes.

Gelt was originally arrested by police on charges of distribution of opium, 
a felony, according to a department press release. But in court, he was 
charged with the misdemeanor marijuana offense.

Prosecutors sometimes choose to file different charges than police, based 
on what they believe they can prove, said Channing Phillips, spokesman for 
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Washington police 
officials could not be reached for comment on the discrepancy Saturday.

That all six students were charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies 
indicates that they were caught with fairly small amounts of the drug, 
Phillips said. The threshold for a felony is a half-pound or more of marijuana.

Barnes-Gelt said she believes that her son was arrested as part of a 
campaign to get dealers higher up the chain.

"I think they might have arrested these kids to get to something bigger," 
Barnes-Gelt said. "Ben said, "There are a lot of kids who are way more 
involved than I've ever been.' He obviously isn't a big player here."

She said the family has been told he should be able to get his record 
cleared if he does everything that's required of him by the court.

The Washington Post quoted American University students Saturday as being 
surprised and skeptical that their school hosts such an advanced drug ring.
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