The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 2010 Page: 4 of 16
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4 NEWS
the Rice Thresher
Friday, February 5,2010
Barnett sentenced for
BB gun shootings
OBCM
FROM PAGE 1
by Catherine Bratic
Thresher Editorial Staff
Former Rice student Caitlin Barnett
was sentenced to two years of com-
munity supervision on Jan. 26 for an
assault she committed while enrolled
at the university. Although Barnett had
originally been charged with the felony
of aggravated assault, the charges were
downgraded by the judge, and Barnett
received deferred adjudication in lieu
of a guilty sentence.
On Sept. 6 and 7, a string of BB
gun shootings occurred on Rice's
Outer Loop, perpetrated by Barnett
and three others, who were not Rice
students, from inside a car.
Later that month Barnett was ar-
rested along with John Michael Char-
gois, Paul Helton and Bonnie Mung.
All four were charged with felony ag-
gravated assault; however, their trials
occurred independently.
Barnett withdrew from Rice shortly
after being charged. Her case has pro-
ceeded throughout the fall semester,
only recently coming to a close. She
could not be reached for comment.
Although Barnett was originally
charged with a felony, a plea bargain
facilitated by her lawyer, Houston
attorney Dorian Cotlar, negotiated the
charge down to a less-severe Class A
misdemeanor, the maximum sentence
for which is one year in prison. In ex-
change for Barnett's guilty plea, Judge
Susan Brown of the 185th district court
deferred adjudication on the case, in-
stead sentencing Barnett to two years
of community supervision, common-
ly known as probation, and fining
her $500.
"There's a huge difference be-
tween an aggravated assault charge
and a misdemeanor assault," said
Houston attorney Brian Warren of
Capitaine, Shellist, Warren, and
McAllister, LLR
Warren speculated that the charges
were downgraded to a misdemeanor
because a BB gun is not usually defined
as a deadly weapon, one of the condi-
tions for a felony aggravated assault.
"1 doubt the legislature envisioned
this scenario of a couple of kids riding
around in a truck with a BB gun when
writing the penal code," Warren said.
The other defendants in the BB
shooting also received deferred adju-
dication and a fine of $500. However,
they were ordered to undergo five
years of community supervision in-
stead of two, as their charge remained
a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
Under the terms of her communi-
ty supervision, Barnett must refrain
from violating any laws, report to a
community supervision officer once
a month, submit to random drug
tests and refrain from any contact
with the victims or fellow perpetra-
tors in the case. Barnett must also
perform 10 hours of community ser-
vice each month and participate in
two programs, one aimed at reform-
ing juvenile offenders and another
addressing weapons safety.
Barnett's sentence of deferred
adjudication in this case means that
if she fully complies with the terms
of her community supervision, no
sentence of guilt will appear on her
criminal record. However, if she vio-
lates the conditions of her parole, she
will return to the 185th District Court
for sentencing.
"She will have a clean slate with
the court if she stays out of trouble
for two years," Rice University
Police Department Captain Diana
Marshall said.
to build its own private teach-
ing hospital — a process that be-
gan in 2005 — BCM amassed $900
million in debt.
The university does not expect
ending the merger discussions will
have any effects on current collabo-
rations, such as the Rice/Baylor
Medical Scholars program.
"We remain enthusiastic about
the [Rice/Baylor] program," Lee-
bron said. "With [BCM] remaining
independent, we hope they will
continue to attach a priority to the
programs we still have."
A strengthened offer
On Jan. 21, Interim President of
Baylor University David Garland re-
leased a statement indicating Bay-
lor and BCM were engaged in talks
regarding a "strengthened affilia-
tion" of the two institutions.
"We believe that such a strength-
ened affiliation could be helpful to
the university's continued growth
and advancement," Garland said in
the statement.
However, when word spread that
Baylor and BCM were considering
consolidation, students, staff, fac-
ulty and alumni of BCM circulated
an online petition opposing any po-
tential merger.
"The religious ideologies that
permeate throughout Baylor's aca-
demic policies may adversely affect
both scientific progress and the
culture at BCM, particularly in re-
lation to issues such as evolution,
embryonic stem cells and sexual
orientation," the petition said.
On the day prior to BCM making
a decision, the petition had 539 sig-
natures.
Any possibility of a merger with
Baylor ended when BCM declared
on Jan. 27 that it would remain in
independent institution. A letter
from Interim BCM President Wil-
liam T. Butler said that BCM had de-
cided to "continue as an indepen-
dent, autonomous institution that
would seek solutions to its current
financial challenges outside of any
additional new partnerships."
Butler also said in the statement
that BCM had achieved a positive
cash flow and more than $1 billion
in cash and investments.
Chairman of the Baylor Board
of Regents Dary Stone notified
the Baylor community in a Jan. 27
statement of BCM's plan to remain
an independent institution. Bay-
lor has since suspended talks with
BCM about any possible "strength-
ened affiliations," Garland said in
a statement released to Baylor staff,
faculty and students.
However, Baylor will continue to
appoint 25 percent of BCM's board
members and retains rights to the
Baylor name, Stone said in his
statement.
Moving forward
Leebron said that although a
Rice merger with BCM would have
provided an opportunity to move
the university decades ahead in the
field of biomedical research, other
investments, such as the Bioscienc-
es Research Collaborative, provide
their own prospects for scientific
advancements.
"We've recruited spectacular
people, there is great student inter-
est and we will continue to invest in
those opportunities," Leebron said
of the BRC.
Last July, Texas Children's Hos-
pital became the first Texas Medi-
cal Center partner to lease space
in the building. Recently, the Gulf
Coast Consortia, which represents
researchers in six TMC institutions,
signed on to join TCH in the BRC.
Through grants and a biomedical
training program with the Univer-
sity of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center, the BRC also continues to
expand its collaborative efforts.
Although Rice will not acquire a
medical school in the near future,
Leebron said the campus should
take pride in how it handled the
matter, particularly in the open-
ness of discussions surrounding
the merger.
Leebron said that as a result
of the vibrant and occasionally
heated discussions, the Rice com-
munity has emerged stronger, and
more people will be willing to look
at future opportunities that will
help Rice pursue the Vision for the
Second Century.
"When we look back at bold-
ness of decisions that established
the university or created new parts,
all came with some level of contro-
versy," Leebron said. "Part of the
strength of the university is that it
can involve people and make deci-
sions through appropriate measures
and move forward."
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 2010, newspaper, February 5, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443208/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.