UPDATED: Nov. 2, 2011, 8:36 p.m.

Two SUNY-ESF students were arrested on charges of drug possession Tuesday night following a police raid of their Westcott Street residence.

Matthew Cleere, 21, and Clayton Ruggles, 27, seniors at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, were arrested at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday at 822 Westcott St., according to reports from the Syracuse Police Department.

The investigation started because of complaints from neighbors, said Sgt. Tom Connellan of SPD. Police then obtained a search warrant and raided the house Tuesday night, he said. Once inside, they found an ‘array of drugs,’ including cocaine, marijuana, LSD and mushrooms, Connellan said. Police also found at least $5,000 in cash and a shotgun, he said.

‘The investigation has revealed that they were catering to students in or around the SU area,’ said Connellan, adding that the investigation is still ongoing and it’s unknown whether more will be arrested.

Chris Patterson, a Westcott resident, said his sister witnessed the raid. A car rolled up slowly — making Patterson’s sister think it was just a student messing around — and police officers jumped out with guns, he said.

‘It was just like it was in a movie,’ said Patterson, who coached football at Nottingham High School this season.

Although police cited neighborhood complaints as the reason for the raid, Patterson said he didn’t hear all of the late-night activity that supposedly happened at 822 Westcott.

Neither did Larry Hoyt, a Westcott resident of 10 years and a disc jockey for WAER.

Hoyt said there are houses on Westcott that have much louder parties than the residents of 822 Westcott, whom he said he has hardly seen. When he first heard the raid occurred on the 800 block of Westcott, ‘822 didn’t come to mind,’ Hoyt said.

A resident of 822 Westcott declined to comment when asked about the raid.

Cleere is facing a total of nine charges, including one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, two counts of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of criminal possession of marijuana and five counts relating to criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to police reports.

Ruggles is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana. Both Cleere and Ruggles are scheduled to be arraigned in Syracuse Criminal Court at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 22.

Anne Lombard, dean of student life and experiential learning at ESF, declined to comment on what action would be taken against the students, but she said the college holds its students ‘accountable for their behavior on and off campus.’

ESF has the ability to temporarily suspend accused students whose alleged violations may threaten the safety and well-being of the campus, Lombard said. If it is determined that no infraction occurred, all charges against the student are dropped, according to ESF’s student judicial handbook.

Said Lombard: ‘The particular students you’re talking about have not worked their way through our judicial process yet because it’s still a brand new thing, but generally speaking, until a student’s case is done and appeals are exhausted, they remain as a student.’

jdharr04@syr.edu

Published on November 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu