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BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 19, 2023

Former GSI arraigned on charges of drug possession Thursday afternoon

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Former Editor in Chief and President

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

Update 2/14/14: This post has been updated to reflect additional information from the Alameda County District Attorney’s office and police.

Timothy Rodriguez, a 40-year-old former UC Berkeley graduate student instructor who police have said sexually assaulted a student, was arraigned on charges of possession of controlled substances Thursday afternoon.

UCPD officers arrested Rodriguez on Tuesday on suspicion of sexual assault and possession of controlled substances. At the arraignment Thursday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office charged Rodriguez with two counts of possession, but as of Friday the district attorney had not brought any sexual assault charges against him.

UCPD provided the Alameda County District Attorney’s office with two separate reports — one that detailed the alleged sexual assault and another that detailed the alleged drug possession. UCPD Lt. Eric Tejada said the DA’s office has only filed the latter of the two cases at this point in time. According to UCPD Lt. Marc DeCoulode,  the DA has three years to decide whether to pursue sexual assault charges.

Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of sexual penetration with a foreign object against a drugged victim. DeCoulode said Friday that UCPD is continuing its investigation and is awaiting lab evidence.

At an Oakland courthouse Thursday afternoon, Rodriguez was charged with possession of two controlled substances, Adderall and psilocybin, which is present in psychedelic mushrooms. Rodriguez allegedly had the drugs in his possession Tuesday when UCPD arrested him at University Village in Albany, where Rodriguez resides. The drug charges are considered misdemeanor offenses.

A judge also reduced his bail from $120,000 to $5,000, and Rodriguez was not in custody as of Thursday evening.

On Jan. 25, Rodriguez allegedly met with a 22-year-old female student whom he knew at a bar, according to a UCPD crime alert. Police said the student left her drink unattended for a short period of time and became ill after consuming a couple of drinks. According to the alert, Rodriguez allegedly took the student with him to his residence at University Village, where the alleged sexual assault took place.

University Village provides housing for UC Berkeley students with families or dependents.

UCPD responded to a local hospital the day after the alleged offense after receiving a report of sexual assault.

UCPD is asking for anyone who might be a victim of a similar type of incident to contact either its criminal investigation bureau at 510-664-9687 or the campus’s Title IX office at 510-643-7985.

Corrections: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified one of the drugs that Rodriguez is being accused of possessing as psilocin. In fact, he is being accused of possessing psilocybin.
Kimberly Veklerov is the lead crime reporter. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @KVeklerov.
LAST UPDATED

FEBRUARY 14, 2014


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A former graduate student instructor was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of unlawful sexual penetration and possession of controlled substances.
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