Senior Eric Halperin was arrested Wednesday and charged with trafficking marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, Durham Police Department officials confirmed Thursday.
Police officers served Halperin with a search warrant at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at his current residence of 1026 W. Trinity Ave. He was released on $25,000 bond Wednesday from the Durham County Jail, according to a Durham County Government Web site.
Duke University Police Department Maj. Gloria Graham said DPD told DUPD that 27 pounds of marijuana are involved in the case.
Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said Halperin has not been suspended by the University, and the school is currently reviewing information related to the case.
"Each case is considered on an individual basis," she said.
Halperin and his father declined to comment for this article.
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, said administrators have been in contact with Halperin, and their primary concern is to provide students with support through the investigation.
"We're thankful the student is not in any way physically harmed," he said.
Halperin's neighbors told The Chronicle Wednesday that a man wearing a DHL logo shirt delivered a wine-case-sized package to the house. Police officers approached the residence after a resident signed for the package.
Eleanor Richardson, who lives next to Halperin, said Wednesday that she saw police officers, who had "helmets on, armor, carrying machine-gun-looking things," in an adjacent alleyway. She added that there were also two SUVs with dark windows parked in the alleyway.
"It is standard procedure for our tactical officers (Selective Enforcement Team) to make entry during drug raids for safety reasons," Kammie Michael, DPD's public information officer, said in a statement.
Michael said that DPD would not be releasing further details at this time because the investigation is ongoing.
Moneta previously told The Chronicle that he heard the arrest was "pretty traumatic."
According to DPD's incident/investigation report, cigarette papers and a box label were seized from the property.
Last April, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation conducted a similar investigation involving another student, who was arrested in his Craven Quadrangle dorm room after signing for a package containing 17 pounds of marijuana sent through DHL. The student was suspended, but was reinstated when all charges were dropped two weeks later because of insufficient evidence.
Both Halperin and the other student are members of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
"I think it's odd that the facts of this case are remarkably similar to a case last year," Wasiolek said.
ATO President Peter Allen, a junior, declined to comment. Other residents of the Trinity Avenue house either declined to comment or could not be reached Thursday.
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