UGA students busted for making fake IDs in dorm
Most college dorms barely have enough room for two beds and two desks. It’s hard to imagine having enough room to run a business.
But three University of Georgia students apparently found a way. The trio is facing dozens of felony charges for allegedly producing fake identification cards to sell to underage students.
Following a tip from another roommate, investigators found several phony IDs, a laminating machine and other materials in a room in the East Campus Village. One student was apparently making the IDs and his two friends helped sell them.
“I think at this age, you never think you’re going to get caught,” UGA police Chief Jimmy Williamson told Channel 2 Action News.
But they did get caught, and this ring is believed to be small in comparison to a larger one currently under investigation.
Are fake IDs a part of college, or should university officials continue to crack down on dorm businesses like this?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
73 comments Add your comment
JB
September 13th, 2012
8:00 am
This would not be a problem if the drinking age were lowered to 18. If you’re old engoung for voting and joining the military you should be old enough to get a drink.
Whiskey Breath
September 13th, 2012
8:02 am
Under the circumstances of our current immigration laws, I question charging these kids with
a felony. Fake id’s are everywhere and illegals are too. I assume these kids are not illegals.
Tis is more about locking more people in our prison systems. Shame on the judicial system.
ugaalumn
September 13th, 2012
8:03 am
What they should do is arrest the little tattle tail who ratted them out. Sorry for partying
Seriuosly?
September 13th, 2012
8:05 am
Several felonies for some kids making a little extra spending cash? Ahh those Athens police are busy? What about the roommate? Snitch…must have been jealous of all the lovely ladies these boys were scoring
5thyearsenior
September 13th, 2012
8:05 am
they were just doing their part to help the economy
Braves #17 Fan
September 13th, 2012
8:06 am
JB – That’s another discussion altogether. It’s sad how teenagers drool and get all giddy about drinking alcohol.
Pat
September 13th, 2012
8:08 am
It’s not like their making fake passports for terrorists.
Hopefully they don’t throw the book at them.
College kids do stupid things. That won’t change.
j_peter
September 13th, 2012
8:09 am
I agree with JB. There is no reason why the drinking age should be 21.
G'Vegas Dawg
September 13th, 2012
8:11 am
Whiskey Breath – you are 100% correct.
Go Jackets
September 13th, 2012
8:16 am
Love the first two comments by JB and Whiskey Breath. Both are spot on! I dont understand why u arrest two up and coming Business School students….we need more enterprising young men to help boost our economy.
Reality
September 13th, 2012
8:16 am
If these kids stay out of prison, will they be a burden on our society or cause harm to others…..most likely not. Graduating from a good school, society will probably benefit. Let them pay their fine and restitution, and move on. Don’t throw their lives away.
Let’s remind ourselves what the purpose of prison is.
PR
September 13th, 2012
8:18 am
They broke the law. They’re adults and they knew what they were doing. Jail time is appropriate.
GT
September 13th, 2012
8:19 am
Athens must have been where Don Knotts was born. They are painting fire hydrants as the town burns. You are a college town, not New Haven or Oxford, Athens, party town, it is almost an entrapment defense, stop taking yourself so seriously and leave those kids along.
Pig Slop
September 13th, 2012
8:22 am
These students have a golden opportunity placed in their laps and they choose to throw it away by operating an illegal identification ring for some extra cash?! There are many young adults green with envy at the chance to attend UGA, live on campus in one of the nicest dorms, and get a valuable diploma in a few short years. Yes, college kids make stupid mistakes but I’m not feeling too sorry for these idiots. There are plenty of on-campus jobs available.
Chris Dacula
September 13th, 2012
8:23 am
Why is this news worthy?
In other news… local man gets a speeding ticket.
SS
September 13th, 2012
8:26 am
Felony? What a bunch of BS. It is a crime and they could probably stand to be scared sh%tless, but ruining their future over a small-time operation like this is unnecessary. Hopefully the DA will work with their attorney and accept a plea to lesser charges.
Brandon
September 13th, 2012
8:31 am
This was going on ten years ago when I was there, it was going on 10 years before that and ten years before that. Let them pay their fine and be done with it.
BootMe
September 13th, 2012
8:34 am
lower the drinking age—at 18 you can vote, sign contracts, join the military, but can’t drink a beer? A total joke.
Wednesday
September 13th, 2012
8:35 am
Whiskey Breath and Go Jackets (nice descriptors, guys), how on earth are you bringing immigration into this? This is about kids wanting to get drunk and party, not immigrants trying to find work to feed their families. Great comparison there. Obviously let’s bring the hammer down on the workers but let the kids off scot-free. It’s the Amurrican Way.
Also, saying these geniuses are future business leaders is, sadly, right on the money. Because everyone knows the best business leaders run their businesses Mafia-style. Laws aren’t to protect us, they’re just more petty regulation, bringing down those starry-eyed entrepreneurs. Just ask Corporate-Looter RomneyBot 2000.
Too many of these comments explain what’s wrong with this country.
Drudge
September 13th, 2012
8:38 am
Wait, that’s a crime? Personally I think it demonstrates a tremendous amount of initiative, recognizes a need and seeks to fill it in a mutually beneficial way. Kudos, may all your beers be cheap and domestic!
RGB
September 13th, 2012
8:38 am
When one of their underage “customers” gets drunk, gets behind the wheel, and kills your sister, please be sure to go to his trial and point out that the “customer” was just a victim of some ambitious entrepreneurs. No harm was intended as these guys were just trying to make a little extra money.
Then ask the judge that all charges against the person who killed your sister be dropped. Next, take him to the car lot, buy him a new car, and then go to another illegal ID place, buy another fake ID–all to ensure that he’s not inconvenienced the next time he goes to the liquor store.
Do that and then we’ll know that you have conviction about this “harmless” idea.
oneup
September 13th, 2012
8:39 am
i agree with the idea if you can serve the country and vote you should be able to drink but if they were off campus and were older adults with this business they would also be charged. Dumb college students at UGA here’s an idea get a real job!
stupid-DAD
September 13th, 2012
8:40 am
Lower the drinking age to 18, oh please! Alcohol impairs your judgement, an 18 year old has impaired judgement sober. Raise the drinking age to 25.
LaLa in Loganville
September 13th, 2012
8:40 am
You don’t even need fake ids at UGA. When I was a student there, I was NEVER once asked for my age or ID. The bars downtown don’t care.
Drudge
September 13th, 2012
8:41 am
Wednesday – I will put this back on you – why do you have to bring Romney into this? It isn’t he who is looting anything – it is the man who has racked up 60% more debt at a rate 3X faster than any other president, tripled the number of people on food stamps and committed us to $36T in unfunded liabilities over the next decade. If you want to talk about looting – just ask your children/grandchildren in 20 years where their nest egg is…
What a hoot
September 13th, 2012
8:41 am
@JB, .. I couldnt agree more.. I am not sure what was accomplished by changing the drinking age. It still happens .. and will happen… and I agree, if someone is old enough to die for this country, then they should be old enough to order a cold beer.
See no Evil
September 13th, 2012
8:42 am
From the response of the UGA alum on this board it seems that and education is not as important as getting the party going. Maybe this is why this state is in such disrepair and is run by morons. It’s ok to give a student an ILLEGAL ID but condem a person for being here illegally. They are both illegal. Who is to say that the students are not selling false IDs to criminals, like those who file off serial numbers of guns and drive around campus. It seems this kind of ID was busted a few years ago too.
Idiot Commenters
September 13th, 2012
8:48 am
It also wouldn’t be a problem if you lowered the drinking age to 4, repealed all the immigration laws and made heroin legal.
You enforce the laws, not ignore them because more people break them. And people go to jail for breaking laws, not for the sake of putting people in jail at tax payers expense. It’s to protect us and punish criminal.
I’m surprised some of you can power on a computer, let alone read the paper.
GT
September 13th, 2012
8:48 am
One of the reason America is not getting it done now days is a lot of tight asses are running the show. You didn’t see this when we were fighting World War II or the years after. You saw an American spirit that tared and feathered these crab apples who got in the way. Steven Jobs was selling illegal long distance phone boxes before he evolved into Apple. We need more of these juice not less.
jabster
September 13th, 2012
8:48 am
Tip to UGA students: You can get all the fake IDs you want in Chambodia. Leave it to the pros.
Oh, and for the “the law is the law” crowd: Dickens said the law is an @$$. Look it up. Just because a law exists doesn’t make it just. The examples of unjust laws in history are legion.
Sober Life
September 13th, 2012
8:49 am
It’s clearly illegal. Period. They made a bad decision and will now have to pay the consequences. So, they did end up learning something in Athens, after all.
crackbaby
September 13th, 2012
8:51 am
A felony for making fake IDs so college students, who are drinking anyway, can drink at bars. Stupid law brought to you as a result of homeland security in wake of 9/11.
Georgia laws are so fubar that the bars have no liability. You can show them a piece of toilet paper with a fake birthdate and they wouldn’t be liable – it’s on the minor. Hopefully a judge in the system lets them off with probation. Their attorneys’ fees alone are enough punishment.
They deserve to be punished solely for being stupid enough to get caught.
Name required
September 13th, 2012
8:52 am
OH, the poor college students!! It is funny how since they are UGA students this crime is just so funny. But if this happened at a HBCU, the comments would include, throw the book at the thugs, and how many other crimes can we add on to this!
College Parent
September 13th, 2012
8:53 am
I’ve done what I can to raise my kids and can only pray my college-aged kids will find one of a million other activities to keep them busy and to prepare them for the future. I feel sorry for the parents of these kids.
GT
September 13th, 2012
8:55 am
Idiot Commenters one of the problems with laws especially in the south is it is controlled by the right wing radicals like yourself. It is very easy for you to say come through my political machine or change the law, you control the machine. The same machine is stealing money from about every state run operation in Georgia and has Ralph Reed as a poster boy. You don’t hate big government you just want to be the one stealing big money, not the other guy. Seems to me your kind is dictating to every other citizen a lot more than Washington on how to live our lives. Changing the laws here is about like changing laws in Cuba.
Been There
September 13th, 2012
8:59 am
The matter of the fact is, that it is an act of discrimination (based on the age) that you can vote, but you are denied the right to buy a beer. BTW – all these 64 cal, lights, etc can’t give you no buzz, no matter how many you drink. Nothing, but a watered down garbage, that is being sold for the price of regular stuff. Another gimmick, fooling the working class. Nevertheless, these boys should be awarded for stimulating the economy, and sent to the prez for a handshake.
Techwood
September 13th, 2012
9:06 am
They’re probably not the worst kids in the state, but shame on them for not only doing something illegal, but also for enabling their ignorant customers. Party responsibly. When you’re old enough to drink you’ll wish you were too young again.
Bill
September 13th, 2012
9:09 am
Good for them…The police should crack down on all kids like this because they think they are invincible and can do whatever they want because mom and pa give them all they want…cool kids….Cops need to be better too
JessicaSt
September 13th, 2012
9:15 am
“Look [giggle]. I got this fake ID and can now drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink [giggle, snort]. I’m taking a shot of tequila [giggle]. Wow we’re so grown up [giggle]. Give me another beer [giggle]. And another [giggle]. Here you have one too [giggle]. Isn’t this the bomb [giggle]. Drinking is awesome [giggle]. I love to drink [giggle]. Let’s drink more [giggle]. I have a lab to do, but I’m drinking instead [giggles all around]. School sux [cheers all around]… OMG, I think I’m going to puke [sigh]. I’m blowing off Chemistry tomorrow [sigh]. Did you hear about Justin’s DUI [sigh]. I lost HOPE [sigh]. I’m voting for Obama [boos all around]“
rlm
September 13th, 2012
9:19 am
If the students at UGA showed more respect for alcohol and mature use of it maybe the drinking age could be lowered but they act like drunken rowdies proving the drinking age should not be lowered. They are too immature to hold their liquor
Ray
September 13th, 2012
9:23 am
I agree that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. I doubt if you will find anyone (who drinks) who waited until they reached 21 before their first sip of alcohol. However, you cannot be selective in enforcing fake ID laws. What would be the purpose of those bubba’s at the state capital turning the driver’s license renewal process into a half-day affair requiring all sorts of ID if the laws are not going to be informed. Should the laws only apply to illegal immigrants?
Reality
September 13th, 2012
9:23 am
If they are not old enough to purchase alcohol then they should be charged as minors. But in our morally corrupt system I am sure the District Attorney wants to charge them as adults.
The government says that they are not old enough to make decisions like purchasing beer though. No wonder the rest of the world is losing respect for America. We are earning that loss of respect.
UGA Graduate
September 13th, 2012
9:25 am
I agree somewhat with both sides. While I agree the drinking age should be lowered to 18, it’s not. These kids need to get in some trouble, yes, but felonies, NO!!! What they did was wrong and it broke the law. They need to get punished some how, but not by getting a felony record!
The real truth
September 13th, 2012
9:25 am
GA Tech beehive helmets? I didn’t know yellow jackets lived in beehives. You guys still suck
markie mark
September 13th, 2012
9:27 am
As someone who was a bartender in St Simons at 18, a bar manager at 19, and a liquor salesman at 25 here in Atlanta, can I give you some perspective? yes, I happen to agree with everyone about being in the military/getting to vote, etc should equate with other adult responsibilities…..but consider this.
There are no 21 year old high school seniors…..they are all 17 or 18. It was common as hell when I was 15 or 16 to pay seniors to buy us beer….this is one of the reasons the age was changed to try to get alcohol out of high schools….
markie mark
September 13th, 2012
9:29 am
the fact that kids in high school then moved on to pot is another subject altogether……
Braves #17 Fan
September 13th, 2012
9:31 am
Interesting comment, markie mark. How about as soon as you are no longer a teenager, you can purchase alcohol? The drinking age should be 20. However, that’s irrelevant to the UGA kids who got caught. They did something illegal, plain and simple. I’d be ticked if I found out my kid gave them money for a fake ID.
Jake
September 13th, 2012
9:36 am
No thanks to routinely drinking alcohol. The consequences far outweigh the momentary joy. I enjoy the flavor of lemonade better anyway.
spaceman109
September 13th, 2012
9:37 am
hmmmm….more enterprising young men to boost our economy?
fake-id merchants in college……con-artist investment brokers later on.
Buckeye
September 13th, 2012
9:47 am
Three fine dogs
DB
September 13th, 2012
9:48 am
Well, some punishment is in order — fake ID’s are illegal, and they knew it. They just didn’t think they would ever get caught. Oops. It’s hard to differentiate “scale of operations” between a half-assed fake shop in a dorm, and professionals who fake passports and other significant documents — where do you draw the line?
The problem would all go away — the need for constant alcohol patrols, etc., etc. if they simply lowered the drinking age back to18 for beer and wine. Obviously, the law isn’tworking. I’m sick and tired of living through some sort of weird 21st century Prohibition where kids are arrested and have records for simply drinking a beer. Ironically, if 18 year olds are in the service and serving their counry, they CAN get a beer on base — so basically, even the U.S. Government thinks it’s a stupid law, too.
Blog readers support UGA students busted for making fake IDs » chaingangelementary.com
September 13th, 2012
9:55 am
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Crime Time blog has a post about some UGA students who were busted for making fake IDs for underage drinkers. [...]
Chuck
September 13th, 2012
9:56 am
It is a shame the way people ignore the law when talking about these people. If they can make a buck by breaking the law small time maybe they will think they can make more in the big time. Don’t know about the felony conviction but support their arrest.
Blog readers support UGA students busted for making fake IDs » Georgia Colleges
September 13th, 2012
9:57 am
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Crime Time blog has a post about some UGA students who were busted for making fake IDs for underage drinkers. [...]
DLink
September 13th, 2012
10:06 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
Trolls Bane
September 13th, 2012
10:21 am
Our august representatives in the Georgia general assembly voted to make this offense a felony and the legislation was signed into law by the guvenor of the state. As a part of the social contract, we all agree to abide by the laws as they are decided by our leaders. If we choose not to submit and comply with the law, we pay the consequences … namely a felony record, no college degree, and jail time.
lexi
September 13th, 2012
10:24 am
The 21 year drinking age threshhold was set by the folks in DC who threatened to withhold highway funds from any state that did not raise the legal age to that minimum.
Bars have a huge incentive to refrain from selling to minors-they can be liable if they sell to someone they suspect or ought to suspect is drunk, and, even though teens believe otherwise, most cannot hold their liquor and become intoxicated at lower levels of alcohol than others. They also are less experienced drivers and too stubborn to understand that inexperience + alcohol kills.
The charge is a felony because fake id’s enable bad people to hide– terrorists, residents not legally here, fugitives and other undesirables.
Bill
September 13th, 2012
10:28 am
Enter your comments here
UGA Alumnus
September 13th, 2012
10:29 am
East Campus is an upper classman dorm. Each unit features multiple bedrooms and a common area. They are more like an apartment than a dorm. I believe they even have some semblance of a kitchen. Had they been caught in Creswell, the whole two desks and two beds joke might be valid.
Bill
September 13th, 2012
10:30 am
The 18 year-old drinking age is a disgrace-it’s making felons out of kids–and making loads of students pot smokers–a well known fact among UGA cops by the way.
RGB
September 13th, 2012
10:33 am
jabster,
So what other laws do you think are unjust? And who should decide?
Used a Fake ID
September 13th, 2012
10:37 am
Speaking as someone who went to UGA and used a fake-id within the last 10 years, this has been going on forever. If you didn’t have a fake-id then you were passed down a real id of someone who looked somewhat like you. This type of activity goes on in almost every large college campus in the U.S. The real issue is the drinking age and teaching responsible drinking. I would argue on a Friday night in Athens, the students that are legally drinking (at 21+) are less intoxicated than the underage students…. These kids definitely broke the law and should face some consequences, but multiple felony charges… really? I knew a guy that used to make and sell fake parking permits at UGA. He got caught and his punishment… a mere slap on the wrist from the University. To me, they are one in the same.
Tag
September 13th, 2012
10:50 am
It’s a crime!
Pat
September 13th, 2012
10:53 am
I have a freshman at UGA and would not want her to have a fake ID to party with. It is a crime to produce or possess fake IDs and underage drinking is a big problem on college campuses. I think a little community service and a fine would be a good punishment and allow them to continue at UGA. Just because it’s been done in the past doesn’t make it right.
aon
September 13th, 2012
10:55 am
I agree that college kids do dumb things and that 99.9% of them probably have a fake ID. However, that does not make it right. I agree that this is not “felony” worthy but you can’t just let kids run amok…that’s why they do stupid things. Oh, and those of you who want to transfer your anger to the “snitch” instead of focusing on the people who actually committed the offense, grow up!
CommonSenseRules
September 13th, 2012
10:56 am
JB
18-year-old voting — an easy pander in the aftermath of the Vietnam debacle — was one of the most idiotic moves that the U.S. Congress has made in recent history. Unfortunately, it will not be undone. There are mountains of data indicating that judgment and emotional development are underdeveloped in adolescents –it’s one of the scientific, as opposed to socially anecdotal –pieces of evidence AGAINST 16-year-olds as drivers. Lowering the ‘legal’ age at which a teen can become inebriated, further impairing judgment and reducing inhibitions, makes about as much sense as turning a toddler loose with a loaded gun! It’s the frontal lobes, man. Just because this country is stupid enough to allow unformed and uninformed minds make decisions, doesn’t make it wise, smart, or in anyone’s best interests.
George Burdell
September 13th, 2012
12:18 pm
Sounds like another typical night at u(sic)ga… Must have been a slow news day
evan
September 13th, 2012
9:53 pm
@ common sense
So it’s not ok to let an 18 year old vote or drink but perfectly ok to have one get killed in a foreign land in service to his or her country?
The only way you don’t sound like a hippocrite is if you agree that only people ages 21 or over should be drafted.
happened to me
September 14th, 2012
12:23 am
my roommate and I were making them and someone in the dorms snitched on us. the sheriff took our gear and we fessed up. served 150 hours picking up trash on campus over the next few months.
happened to me
September 14th, 2012
12:26 am
Pat, someone’s little girl is standing on her head in Athens tonight, and someone is putting a keg tap into her mouth! afterwards, they’ll try to get another 12 pack, but no one has an ID. No problem, the frat kid from the prep school has a big bag of weed to share. flip on the phish and bake away! no id necessary
white rabbit
September 17th, 2012
8:12 pm
The snitch is a loser. Most posters on this thread are pretty sanctimonious. What a state.
icon pack
November 1st, 2012
6:09 pm
I agree with told all above. We can communicate on this theme.
emoody
January 8th, 2013
4:34 pm
that is another reason my child is not going to go to UGA it have become nothing but a THUG school