There has been little legal progress in the case against the
student accused of attacking the UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Campus Resource Center in September, and some campus
leaders are wondering why the case has not yet been brought against
the man arrested more than six months ago.
“I would like to have closure on this and I want the best
to happen for all concerned, including the alleged
perpetrator,” said center director Ronni Sanlo. “People
keep asking me what the status of the case is.”
Robert Grosfield, 22, was arrested at his Ventura County home in
late September following an investigation after a grapefruit-sized
piece of concrete shattered one of the center’s windows. It
was the first in a series of three attacks on the center during the
last weeks of summer, and occurred at about the same time as the
resource center celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Grosfield was charged with the interference of the exercise of
civil rights, a felony, and was released on $50,000 bond soon
after. Police designated the attacks as hate crimes, a charge
carrying higher degrees of legal ramifications, because they were
directed at the LGBT center.
Though Grosfield’s arraignment came shortly after his
arrest, there has been limited legal progress on the case, and
police said they are waiting for results of evidence lab tests
before proceeding further.
Lab tests are the only things keeping the case on hold, and the
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has requested
the results before they proceed with a case, said University Police
Detective Carlos Franco.
“That’s going to kind of make or break the
case,” he said.
The evidence being tested at the police lab include blood
samples, and more than one of Grosfield’s computers is also
being analyzed, Franco said. In September, Sanlo said when
authorities came to the scene of the crime they were able to
collect fingerprints and blood samples because the suspect had been
cut by the glass from the broken windows.
Franco added that he has pushed the lab to analyze the data, but
the results may be taking a long time because of police
priorities.
“Like everything else, violent crimes are priority, and
they deal with so many murders and crimes against persons,”
Franco said, noting that he was unsure of how long it would take to
receive the results.
“I’ve asked them to push it. All I can do is be a
squeaky wheel and hope they grease it,” he said.
Grosfield’s attorney, Blair Berk, said she hopes there is
an objective and fair reflection on the evidence before there is a
decision to proceed with the case.
“None of us are well served by a lynch-mob mentality, even
those whose rights we are attempting to protect,” Berk said.
“Pronouncements from the chancellor and others prejudging the
evidence sadly send a terrible message to students trivializing the
presumption of innocence and the need for due process.”
Berk was referring to a statement Chancellor Albert Carnesale
issued following the second attack on the LGBT Center, saying the
vandalism was “deeply troubling” and assuring the
campus community that “this type of behavior is unacceptable
on our campus.”
Sanlo said she did not think police rushed to an arrest.
“The police were very cautious about determining who the
perpetrator was until they had a great deal of information. I
don’t believe from this perspective that a lynch-mob
mentality was ever part of our process or our thinking,”
Sanlo said.
According to the registrar’s office, Grosfield has not
graduated and is not currently enrolled at UCLA.