The gun former ASU tailback Loren Wade allegedly used in a March shooting was purchased in an ASU residence hall for $100, a grand jury transcript released this summer reveals.
Scottsdale detective Todd Larson testified before the grand jury on April 5 that Wade "advised me that he bought the gun his freshman year, which would have been about 2002, in the dorms at ASU."
The grand jury indicted Wade on a first-degree murder charge later that day in the death of another former ASU football player, Brandon Falkner, who was shot outside a Scottsdale nightclub.
The usually secret grand jury proceedings were made public when Wade's defense cited the proceedings as evidence in a motion to return the case to a grand jury. Judge Douglas Rayes is scheduled to hear the motion Friday.
ASU law professor Myles Lynk, who led a committee investigating issues raised by the March 26 shooting, would not comment on whether he knew Wade reportedly bought his gun at ASU.
But according to the committee's report, weapons violations may be underreported to the ASU Department of Public Safety.
The committee reported that "ASU DPS rarely encounters guns on the Tempe campus, but once or twice a month they find guns in married student housing on the Polytechnic campus."
But an online survey offered to all faculty, staff and students over the summer via e-mail raised a red flag when seven survey respondents reported seeing a gun in campus housing and 47 reported seeing people who were not police officers with guns on campus.
More than 2,400 people took the survey.
"There were more reports [of weapons possession] to us via the survey than had been reported to police in recent years," Lynk said.
The committee's report also said students were reluctant to report violations.
Lynk said the committee found "that in certain instances students did have knowledge regarding another student's possession of a weapon, but did not report that [information] to the University authorities."
Lynk said creating a hotline that would allow students to anonymously report weapons violations and threats or acts of violence could increase the number of incidents that are reported to ASU DPS.
"We think one of the concerns [is] -- if you report something like that -- the fear of retribution," Lynk said.
Christine Wilkinson, an ASU senior vice president, will oversee implementation of the committee's recommendations.
Wilkinson said she aims to have all the proposals put into place by the end of the fall semester. She held a meeting regarding the recommendations in general, but has not yet begun work on specific changes.
ASU spokeswoman Terri Shafer said students can anonymously report violations to the main DPS dispatch number, (480) 965-3456, until a hotline is established.
Also, the ASU DPS policy on weapons, explosives and fireworks was modified after Falkner was shot to require students and staff to immediately report suspected possession or use of those items to ASU police.
"Even the awareness of weapons and the nondisclosure of that awareness will lead to sanction and punishment," ASU President Michael Crow said in March when he announced his intention to change the policy.
According to Residential Life policies, weapons possession is considered sufficient grounds for removing a student from campus housing. Residential Life officials did not respond to an e-mail or answer phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
State Press reporter Amanda Gonser contributed to this report.
Reach the reporter at brian.indrelunas@asu.edu.
