5.2.2012

Page 1

Wednesday May 2, 2012 year: 132 No. 62

the student voice of

The Ohio State University

www.thelantern.com

thelantern Cleveland bomb plot shocks OSU students

sports

Katelyn Pruchnicki Lantern reporter prucknicki.5@osu.edu

5A

Dedication not dampened

Despite poor weather, a special memorial game honored former OSU soccer player Conner Senn Tuesday.

[ a+e ]

Five men were arrested in Cleveland, Ohio, after plotting to blow up a bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Monday. The bridge is located about 15 miles from downtown Cleveland and carries a four-lane state highway connecting Brecksville, Ohio, to Sagamore Hills, Ohio. Some Ohio State students from the Brecksville, Ohio, area said they were alarmed to hear of the alleged attempts to blow up the bridge. “I was shocked that people would take the time out of their day to try to blow up a bridge in Ohio,” said Jeff Mancino, a first-year in psychology, whose hometown is about 10 minutes from the bridge. “I first found out about it on Twitter and then I saw the CNN link. You don’t think you’re going to get caught? I mean, it’s kind of dumb.” Three of the men, who are reportedly selfproclaimed anarchists and part of the Occupy Cleveland movement, were arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force Monday on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce. Douglas Wright, 26, Brandon Baxter, 20, and Anthony Hayne, 35, are said to have been plotting the explosion for months. The other men, Connor Stevens, 20, and Joshua Stafford, 23, were arrested with charges pending as of Tuesday night. In an undercover operation, FBI employees sold the suspects fake explosives after monitoring and taping their conversations over a period of several months. The inert explosives were planted at the base of the bridge when the suspects dialed a code they believed would set the explosives off. Rachel Sirey, a fourth-year in music education from Brecksville, said she was glad to hear that the

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Calling on Cal

1B

OSU student Cal Scruby was selected to open for rapper J. Cole at OUAB’s BuckeyeThon Benefit Concert Monday.

campus

Key donation

Connor Stevens

Douglas Wright

Anthony Hayne

Joshua Stafford

Marvin Fong / Cleveland Plain Dealer

View of the Ohio 82 bridge that links Brecksville and Sagamore Hills, photographed May 1. Five men were arrested for plotting to blow up this bridge.

Berry expected to plead guilty to charges Chelsea Castle Managing editor castle.121@osu.edu Former Ohio State running back Jaamal Berry is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges from an October incident, said Robert Tobias, assistant prosecutor assigned to the case. After three court continuations, the case is to be settled outside of court with a plea hearing scheduled for June 26, Tobias said. Berry will be on probation for one year in Ohio, and will be required to pay court fees and complete community service hours. Tobias said Berry’s attorneys told him that Berry has returned to his home state of Florida, where he said he expects Berry will complete his community service hours before the plea hearing. The type of probation Berry will be under will allow him to return to Florida while still on probation in Ohio, as long as he has satisfied all other conditions before doing so. While in Florida, Berry is “not to engage in any same or similar type behavior and to stay away from the victim,” Tobias said. After Berry’s pre-trial Feb. 8, Tobias said Berry’s defense attorney

Thomas Bradley / Campus editor

Former OSU running back Jaamal Berry is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges dating back to October. expressed Berry’s desire to transfer to another school. “It was told to me by the defense attorney that he was not on the team anymore and that he had a desire to relocate for school somewhere else out of state,” Tobias said. Also after the pre-trial, Berry’s attorney William Meeks said Berry remained in good standing as a

student and on scholarship but is no longer a part of the football team. Tobias said he is unaware if Berry is enrolled in classes at OSU. Berry and Meeks did not return multiple requests for comment Tuesday. The pre-trial was the first meaningful discussion among those involved in the case, which has been continued because Berry’s defense is

challenging his identification by the alleged victim. “The identification in the case, we think, is probably constitutionally faulty,” Meeks said in court. “We are challenging, by a not-guilty plea, the alleged assault in this case.” The victim has asked to remain anonymous and did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday. Berry was suspended from the football team Nov. 2 after being charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct. The charges were based on an incident that occurred Oct. 21 at 2:20 a.m. in the Arena District in downtown Columbus, involving Berry and a Columbus State Community College student. On Dec. 27, Berry pleaded not guilty to the charges and jury time for the case was waived, according to court documents. In the incident, the plaintiff was “struck in the face with a closed fist,” according to the Columbus Division of Police report. The plaintiff was treated at the hospital following the incident for injuries to his head, face, neck, back and hand. He was also ruled as having a possible concussion and eye

2A Bathroom privacy compromised in Hughes

An OSU Foundation board director and alumnus donated $1 million to the Office of Student Life.

Thomas Bradley Campus editor bradley.321@osu.edu

weather high 86 low 67 Scattered t-storms

TH 88/67 F 81/64 SA 81/61 SU 83/47

Brandon Dakter

isolated t-storms isolated t-storms isolated t-storms partly cloudy Caitlin Essig / Asst. multimedia editor

www.weather.com

A student caught a man using his cell phone to take video in a 2nd-floor bathroom of Hughes Hall.

Even behind locked doors, some Ohio State students have seen the expected privacy of a bathroom stall evaporate. An OSU employee was caught videotaping students in a secondfloor bathroom of Hughes Hall on April 13, and has not yet been charged, said Deputy Chief Richard Morman of OSU Police. By propping his cell phone against his ankle on the ground, the man turned on the camera and began recording activity in the stall next to him. Realizing the situation, one of the alleged victims grabbed the cell phone, left the restroom and reported it to University Police. The man admitted to videotaping multiple students, and Morman said an investigation of the contents of the cell phone could reveal other alleged victims. Morman said the man is an employee of OSU’s Wexner Medical

continued as Berry on 3A

Center as a patient care associate in the emergency room, and has been placed on indefinite leave pending the investigation and charges being filed. University Police responded and met with the suspect at Weigel Hall, across the street from Hughes Hall. The incident was originally reported by 10TV to have happened at Weigel Hall, but Morman said the incident actually happened at Hughes Hall. Hughes Hall and Weigel Hall are part of the School of Music. After taking the phone from the alleged victim, University Police needed to obtain a search warrant to go through the contents of the phone. Those documents listed the location as Weigel Hall. Representatives from 10TV said they are investigating the error. Mariah Holt, a fourth-year in music, said she knows the alleged victim and the suspect, but did not feel comfortable identifying them. “We all know who it is, but we can’t really talk about it since he hasn’t been charged yet,” Holt said.

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