Student flees, arrested for distribution

An Ohio Wesleyan student was arrested on Jan. 30 for possession of marijuana after running from Delaware Police Department (DPD) officers.

Senior Asa Diskin, who lives in the Bigelow-Reed House on Williams Drive, was charged with distributing and selling marijuana in addition to possession, according to the police report.

Public Safety officer Chris Mickens said he was searching Diskin’s room when he ran out carrying bags of marijuana. DPD was on-site when Diskin left the building.

DPD spokesman Capt. Adam Moore said Diskin was fleeing the scene when the police arrived, but when ordered to stop by an officer, he voluntarily laid down on the ground and was put in handcuffs.

Senior Alex Lothstein, who also lives in Bigelow-Reed, saw him running down the back staircase and go behind Delta Tau Delta fraternity house when the police arrived.

Lothstein also commented that while he has never seen this happen before, the odor of marijuana can often be smelled from behind the house.

Diskin’s charges are still pending in court. He could not be reached for comment.

Public Safety director Bob Wood said it is uncommon for a student to flee from a drug search. He said Diskin probably panicked and ran because of the amount of marijuana that he had.

“It’s the same thing when you’re driving and you do something bad and see the blue lights and sirens behind you and you hit the gas,” Wood added. “It’s like what are you thinking, they’re gonna catch you and you’re in so much more trouble that if you had just pulled over. It’s just panic mode where you’re not thinking.”

Wood said there are around 20 cases a year when PS responds to calls and finds drugs. As part of policy, PS is required to call DPD when they find drugs because they cannot confiscate the drugs themselves.

“For me to possess drugs is just like for you to possess drugs because I’m not an actual law enforcement officer,” Mickens said.

Wood added that about 90 percent of the time the police will file a criminal charge, depending on the amount and level of emergency.

Wood said OWU often gets criticized for the amount of drug charges it processes each year, but that other institutions “process them through just the judicial and not the arrest system.”

“One year, we had 23 drug charges or arrests and another school just about our size had none,” said Wood. “But that other school had 150 judicial cases that were the exact thing but they just process them through their conduct system and don’t call the police. For drugs on campus, we almost always do both.”

Mickens and Wood said the procedures and complaints can change depending on the location and proximity to campus. Because this case happened on campus, it involved both campus security and DPD.

Cases around Sandusky Street and Clancey’s would also involve PS, but beyond that the police would normally respond.