BARNES-GELT'S SON CHARGED IN D.C. DRUG RAID

WASHINGTON - Police in ski masks pounded on a Washington dorm room door in
a late-night raid last week, and what they found rocked one of Denver's
most prominent political families.

Ben Gelt, 20, who led a post-Columbine gun control campaign all the way to
the White House, found himself in a District of Columbia jail Thursday
after being arrested in his dorm. He was charged with misdemeanor
possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The arrest stunned Gelt's well-known parents, Denver City Councilwoman
Susan Barnes-Gelt and former Colorado Democratic Party chairman Howard
Gelt. Barnes-Gelt has been mentioned as a potential candidate for mayor.

"This whole thing is heartbreaking," Barnes-Gelt said Saturday. ""He's
screwed up, big time. He's already spent what I hope was an extremely
unpleasant night in jail. Even though this is a misdemeanor, there will be
serious, serious consequences."

Five others were arrested in the raid at the dorm at American University.
It capped a monthlong undercover investigation by Washington police sparked
by a tip from a confidential source. Police say they are investigating a
network that has supplied marijuana, Ecstasy and opium to American and
other capital-area universities.

Both of Ben Gelt's parents, who are divorced, said their son was a "good
kid" who'd committed a serious error in judgment.

"He's done some significant things in his life," Howard Gelt said. "This is
an aberrant thing. It's just something that happened that's not indicative
of his character."

Barnes-Gelt said her son was most worried about how his 88-year-old
grandmother would react when she found out. Gelt could not be reached for
comment Saturday.

Gelt was released from jail on his own recognizance after a court
appearance Friday afternoon, but American University has kicked him off
campus. The charges could result in expulsion, but his parents are trying
hard to keep him in school, at least until the end of the semester.

Howard Gelt flew to Washington on Saturday to assist his son and scold him,
Barnes-Gelt said.

Gelt was an 18-year-old senior at East High School in 1999 when the
Columbine High School massacre inspired him to join the budding gun-control
group SAFE, or Sane Alternatives to the Firearms Epidemic. With friend
David Winkler, he formed SAFE Students.

They organized 94 students from 31 Colorado schools to travel to
Washington, where they lobbied Congress and had a private meeting with
then-President Clinton.

Gelt also wrote opinion articles for The Denver Post advocating what he and
other members of SAFE called "simple, common-sense gun regulations." He
delayed college for a year while he traveled the country talking to
students about youth violence. His activism later helped convince American
University officials to accept him to the private school in Northwest
Washington.

He remained active in student activities and gun control issues and even
formed a football league. The week before his arrest, he'd participated in
a Rock the Vote Youth Summit televised on MTV.

But he also participated in other activities.

"I am aware that Ben has been a mild user of marijuana," Barnes-Gelt said.
But Howard Gelt said charging his son with trafficking drugs was "just a
little" over the top.

Gelt was arrested with five other men in a late-night raid of four
dormitories on the campus by a special team of police in ski masks. They
pounded on the door with search warrants, handcuffed the students and
searched the rooms.

Officers seized opium, marijuana, one vehicle and $15,000 in cash.
Officials said they expect to arrest more people, and said Gelt could be
charged with additional crimes.

Gelt was originally arrested by police on charges of distribution of opium,
a felony, according to a department press release. But in court, he was
charged with the misdemeanor marijuana offense.

Prosecutors sometimes choose to file different charges than police, based
on what they believe they can prove, said Channing Phillips, spokesman for
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Washington police
officials could not be reached for comment on the discrepancy Saturday.

That all six students were charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies
indicates that they were caught with fairly small amounts of the drug,
Phillips said. The threshold for a felony is a half-pound or more of marijuana.

Barnes-Gelt said she believes that her son was arrested as part of a
campaign to get dealers higher up the chain.

"I think they might have arrested these kids to get to something bigger,"
Barnes-Gelt said. "Ben said, "There are a lot of kids who are way more
involved than I've ever been.' He obviously isn't a big player here."

She said the family has been told he should be able to get his record
cleared if he does everything that's required of him by the court.

The Washington Post quoted American University students Saturday as being
surprised and skeptical that their school hosts such an advanced drug ring.