Discrepancies get Mote vandalism
case tossed out of court

By Bill Keran
The Metropolitan

The court case against a Metro student who was accused of vandalizing school property in early May was dismissed Oct. 14 from Denver Municipal Court. If Gary Norris would have been convicted, he could have faced a maximum penalty of a $450 fine and 30 days in jail.

The charges stem from fliers that were glued to the walls in the West Classroom near the Political Science office. Norris said that he made and distributed the fliers, but denied sticking them to any walls.

The case was dropped because of discrepancies between the times of the incident in police reports and the testimony of the only witness, said Norris, who was arrested May 6.
Kenneth Keller, chairman of Metroâs Sociology, Anthropology and Behavioral Science department, was the only witness for the college.

ã(Aurariaâs) witness said he saw me making pushing motions on a flier while I was writing on it,ä Norris said. ãHow they got from one flier I wrote on to vandalizing the entire campus is an interesting question.ä
Norris said he was writing ãanti-administration stuff, anti-Kaplan stuffä on the fliers. He made them because he ãwanted to get (Metro President Sheila) Kaplan more involved with the student body.ä

ãWe have an administration that really doesnât confer with the students when doing things,ä he said.

Even after the case was dismissed, Norris said he was still upset with the campus that the case had gone so far.