Operation Prevent followed Ilya Elkind to his room.

The freshman, who was issued an appearance ticket by officers during the February raid of Konrad’s, was arrested again Tuesday for producing fictitious New Jersey licenses, Syracuse Police Department Lt. Shannon Trice said.

Officers tracked two fake I.D.s back to Elkind with the help of students who he sold them to for $50 apiece. Elkind was charged with forgery and released on an appearance ticket.

Elkind cooperated with officers when they confronted him in his room, according to a police report.

He gave them several pieces of equipment that he used in creating the I.D.s, including three Zip disks with license templates on them, several CD cases and holders, floppy disks, two printers, an ink cartridge, a laminator, a piece of blue poster board that he used as a backdrop for the license headshots, and his computer, the report stated.

Elkind said he used Adobe Photoshop to create the templates, the report added.

He also gave officers several holograms from Rhode Island licenses that he said he purchased from a Web site for $500, the report stated.

This is the second arrest for forgery involving a Syracuse University student. Sophomore Cole Harris was arrested on similar charges last week for producing I.D.s in his Skyhall Residence Hall room on South Campus. University Spokesman Kevin Morrow said that a search warrant was executed by both police and Department of Public Safety officers in Harris’ case.

Morrow said that the university will investigate both students.

“The charges against these students are very serious and the university will be looking into it,” he said.

Although he said that he could not discuss any specifics about when possible academic discipline could take place, he said that in the past, cases have been handled during the summer.

Trice said that any action the university takes against the students would probably be the most severe. With no prior convictions, he added that the students would likely only receive probation.

“Our plan is not to punish these students,” he said. “Just to stop the proliferation of these I.D.s.”

Published on May 7, 2003 at 12:00 pm