Forty years behind bars and a $2 million fine. That is the maximum sentence former St. Michael's College student Steven O'Reilly of Massachusetts could be facing.
A costly mistake
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office on Jan. 24, O'Reilly, 22, and his friend Raymond Stenson, 22, of Champlain College, appeared in the U.S. District Court in Rutland, Vt. that day, regarding charges of their involvement in a drug conspiracy.
O'Reilly and Stenson pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella says.
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3.5 kilograms of cocaine weighs the same amount as 1400 U.S. pennies. (Photo illustration by Kaitlin Couillard) |
O'Reilly surrendered to the police his 2004 Infinity SUV, over $5,000 in drug proceeds and a diamond watch, according to the press release.
Because O'Reilly and Stenson agreed to plead guilty, they were not indicted and are not currently being held on cash bail, remaining out of priosn until trial, Perella says.
On Jan. 24, WCAX-TV News reported that O'Reilly sold 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of cocaine over a period of two years.
The sentencing will take place on May 28, at which time U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha will decide what the sentence should be in terms of imprisonment. According to the press release, the mandatory minimum sentence is five years of imprisonment.
Cracking the case
The Nov. 17, 2006 issue of the Echo covered O'Reilly's initial arrest.
The article reports that officers from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Burlington Police Department searched O'Reilly's Ethan Allen 101 apartment on North Campus on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
O'Reilly's car was also searched and then seized by DEA agents. He was arrested and taken off campus by the DEA. Detective Andrew Frisbie of the Burlington Police Department was in charge of the investigation.
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Ethen Allen 101, O' Reilly's residence at the time of his arrest. |
Campus Security's involvement in the issue was merely supportive, says Peter Soons, director of Safety and Security at St. Michael's. The Burlington police were involved because they were investigating dealings that took place off campus, he says.
Drawing a line
The O'Reilly case is a unique situation for the St. Michael's campus because of the magnitude of drugs involved, Soons says.
Campus Security receives calls for odor complaints as well as student and faculty observations of suspected drug use on a weekly basis, Soons says.
"There are drugs on campus, Soons says. "They are against school policy. And when we find them, we deal with them," Soons says.
Most encounters with illegal drugs occur with small, personal amounts, he says. If the quantity crosses the threshold of personal use, then the police become involved.
Similar situations have occurred a few times over the last five years, says Michael Samara, Dean of Students.
At the beginning of this year, St. Michael's went approximately two months without report of any drug-related incidents, Soons says. As the weather has gotten colder, the reports have grown more frequent.
"Happening once is too much, in my opinion," Samara says.
The policy in the student handbook states that anyone found distributing illegal drugs faces immediate expulsion from the college, he says.
Campus Security officers take part in workshops that illustrate how to handle drug situations. They describe the culture, teach what to look for, explain how to identify signs of use, and what indicates that an individual is in trouble, Soons says.
According to Soons, drugs found on campus are destroyed or disposed of, as well as any paraphernalia.
"Happening once is too much, in my opinion." |
-Dean Samara commenting on drug-related incidents. |
The college also provides education programs in an effort to reduce drug use among students, as well as offers assistance and counseling to those suffering from addictions, he says.
Realistically, the best way to prevent situations like O'Reilly's is friends urging friends not to take these kinds of risks, Samara says.