A Georgetown freshman will face simple assault charges for striking another student during an altercation in front of Wisemiller’s Deli Sept. 21. Mackenzie Fulk (MSB ’06) turned himself in to the 2nd District station at 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 1, after a warrant was issued for his arrest three days earlier.

Fulk is charged with the assault of Jason Boice (NHS ’03) around 4 p.m. on the Saturday of Homecoming weekend. According to Detective Delroy Burton of the Metropolitan Police Department, who investigated the incident, an argument between Boice and four other people, in which Fulk was not involved, began inside Wisemiller’s. The altercation then broke up but continued shortly afterward outside with Boice and two people from the original argument. It was at that point that Fulk – apparently a friend of one of the two other people – got involved, Lt. Brian Bray of MPD said.

“While they were arguing, the defendant punched [Boice] in the jaw,” Burton said. “He was unconscious before he hit the pavement.”

Boice suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw, which had to be wired shut to heal, his roommate Jake Boyd (SFS ’05) said. “He had to blend all his food to eat it,” he said. “And he was having a lot of problems in the days afterward remembering things.”

Burton said he believed alcohol “played a part” in the incident and that he did not believe Fulk and Boice knew each other beforehand.

Fulk declined to comment for this article, and Boice was not available for comment by press time.

Fulk is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20 for his arraignment. According to Bray, it is highly unusual for suspects not to be held in jail until their arraignment date, which is usually the next day in warrant cases. “I’ve never heard of that in my eight years here,” he said. “They circumvented the normal procedures.”

Burton said that many cases such as these do not end up going to trial but are settled by plea bargain, which Fulk will likely offer on Nov. 20. The charge of simple assault carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, he said.

Georgetown classifies “physical assault with bodily injury” as a “Category C” offense, “for which a student could be dismissed from the university on disciplinary grounds,” according to the Student Conduct section of the Student Handbook.

“We hold students responsible for living up to the Student Code of Conduct,” Vice President of Student Affairs Juan C. Gonzalez said. “And we expect them to uphold the laws of the District of Columbia.” He said he could not comment on individual cases, but explained that university procedure is for the Department of Public Safety to initiate an investigation into what occurred and submit its findings to the Office of Student Conduct. The office would then speak to the parties involved and hold a hearing on the case.

“The maximum penalty [for Category C violations] is expulsion,” Gonzalez confirmed. “But every single case is treated individually.”