Adjunct Law Professor Rory O’Bryan entered his Real Estate Finance class at 4:30 p.m. Monday like he does every week. The only difference this Monday was that he wasn’t lecturing to a full class.\nIU law student Jesse M. Sneed, described by O’Bryan as an active participant in class, was arrested Oct. 16 after he fired an assault rifle several times from his balcony on the west side of town.\nA brownish textbook with gold letters spelling “Real Estate Transfers, Finance and Development,” cluttered the students’ desks. Police found the same textbook with two bullet holes under Sneed’s balcony.\nReturning from their fall break, about 20 students sat patiently in their chairs as O’Bryan began the lecture. But O’Bryan didn’t dive right into the lecture. Instead, he informed the class of Sneed’s arrest and asked the rest of the students if anything happened in class that might trigger Sneed’s behavior. The students said nothing.
Criminal history\nSneed is no stranger to law enforcement.\nWhile living in Illinois in 1995, Sneed received an ordinance violation involving a concealed weapon, a representative from the Madison County, Ill., Circuit Court said. In 2002, Sneed was arrested on aggravated use of weapons and battery charges. He was only convicted of battery. In 2003 he was arrested for driving under the influence, according to the court records. \nThe IU School of Law’s application states because of the high ethical standards of the legal profession, applicants are required to disclose anything that pertains to a student’s moral character.\nHowever, despite his criminal history, Sneed was accepted into IU’s School of Law. \nLauren Robel, dean of the law school, said in an e-mail that if any student states on an application that he has been convicted of a crime, “red flags” are sent up and the student will usually not be admitted into the school. However, there are some exceptions, Robel said. \n“They are only admitted when we have satisfied ourselves that the student would be a candidate for admission to a bar and would not pose any threats to others,” she said in the e-mail. Robel would not disclose whether Sneed listed his criminal history on his application.\nWhether or not Sneed will be suspended from the law school is unknown at the time. Robel refused to comment on Sneed’s punishment.\nO’Bryan expressed his concern over the situation and said he has no memory of anything unusual involving Sneed. Despite Sneed’s current absence from class, O’Bryan still hopes for the best.\n“It is my understanding that (Sneed) did not shoot anyone or cause harm to any person or to himself,” he said. “Assuming that is true, I hope that it will mean that he has a chance to put his life back together.”
Sneed’s arrest\nOn Oct. 16, Sneed, 27, was arrested at his apartment in the 1300 block of West Arch Haven Avenue. The Bloomington Police Department received a complaint at about 7 a.m. regarding “short bursts of gunfire,” BPD Capt. Joe Qualters said.\nThe Critical Incident Response Team arrived at the scene at about 7:30 a.m. to establish communication with Sneed. At about 8:30 a.m., Sneed was seen trying to leave in a red Chevrolet Cavalier. Officers arrested him at the scene and brought him to the police station for further questioning.\nAuthorities continued searching the scene to ensure there were no other suspects in the apartment. After concluding their search, officers found two assault rifles in Sneed’s attic, several shell casings on the ground and Sneed’s textbook below his balcony. Whether Sneed was shooting at the textbook is unknown, but police are confident that the textbook belonged to Sneed. \nHe currently faces charges of criminal recklessness with a weapon. On Thursday Sneed pleaded not guilty to the charges.\nSneed, who is being held without bond at the Monroe County Jail, was evicted from Arch Haven apartment complex last week, said Doug Jones, part-owner of Arch Haven LLC and Adam’s Crossing LLC.\nAdam’s Crossing LLC is a joint operation with Arch Haven apartment complex.\nJones said it takes about 72 hours to get an emergency eviction order, but Adam’s Crossing LLC did not have go that route. An agreement was made with Sneed’s attorney in order to ensure the eviction.\n“He will not be back at Arch Haven,” he said.
