TIGER TV CONTRIBUTOR
The LSU Panhellenic Council will pay LSU Police $40,000 to increase security along “Sorority Row” after three members of Delta Gamma sorority were robbed at gunpoint in early September.
The robbery, which was not generally publicized by LSU Police or the University, happened on Sept. 6 on a bridge near an area with 11 sorority houses to which 2,300 members have access.
Captain Russell Roge’ of LSU Police said the robbery was not publicized because it is “normal procedure” to post the incident as a crime alert on LSU Police’s Web site.
Angela Guillory, director of Greek Life, said her office did not release any information “to maintain the privacy of the students.”
The sorority members were walking to their sorority house around 1 a.m. after leaving Serrano’s restaurant on Highland Road, a member of Delta Gamma said, but requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.
Captain Russell Roge’ of LSU Police said the students had their purses, cell phones and credit cards stolen.
LSU Police arrested a man and a woman who were carrying guns and riding bicycles on the LSU campus on Sept. 13 during the LSU-University of Louisiana at Lafayette football game, said Sergeant Jason Bettencourtt of LSU Police.
Police officers identified the woman after she was seen in surveillance footage using the stolen credit card at a Baton Rouge ATM. The man matched the description the sorority women gave police after the robbery, Roge’ said.
Megan Bilichka, 23, of Baton Rouge, is accused of using the stolen credit card. She is charged with carrying a firearm in a firearm-free zone and unauthorized use of an access card.
Wilfredo Martinez, 32, of Baton Rouge, is accused of holding up the sorority women. He is charged with armed robbery, carrying a firearm in a firearm-free zone, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting an officer.
Bilichka and Martinez led LSU police to an off-campus apartment where Royce Hall, 33, was found babysitting the couple’s infant, Bettencourtt said.
Hall is the second suspect accused of holding up the sorority women and faces charges of armed robbery, possession of stolen things and possession of marijuana.
Kelly Huff, president of the LSU Panhellenic Council, said the council unanimously voted to charge each sorority member a $2 fee, which will pay LSU Police $40,000 to have an additional officer on patrol along “Sorority Row.”
An LSU police officer is already on duty along West Lakeshore Drive seven days a week from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., Huff said.
“LSU Police upped the price they were charging us, and this was the only way for us to pay for this,” she said. “It was either have each member pay more or cut back on the patrols. We wanted the added security.”
Angela Guillory, director of Greek Life, said LSU Police now charges $42 an hour for each officer on duty.
Roge’ said it is not unusual for LSU Police to provide security for on-campus organizations and events.
“We work many sporting events as well as sorority and fraternity parties and late night events in the Union,” he said. “It’s a service we provide when they ask for our officers to provide security.”
Huff said many of the council members felt the sororities would feel uncomfortable without the patrols at night.
“Anything can happen, especially after this,” Huff said. “It’s a shame that [the robbery] happened on that bridge.”
The fee increase will be added to the Panhellenic Council’s constitution at the next business meeting and delegates will have to approve the measure, Huff said.
The added patrols will not go into effect until the spring semester, she said.
