Published: December 13, 2007 10:24 pm         

MSU criminal justice students honored at annual conference

The Mountain State University chapter of the Am-erican Criminal Justice Association received several awards last month during the association’s annual conference in Bristol, Va.

The conference included 54 professional and local subordinate chapters from Region IV, or Mid-Atlantic region.

Dr. Michael Kane, director of MSU’s justice studies program, said he was excited about the results.

“I’m happy but not surprised,” he said. “I really feel we have some of the best criminal justice students in the state. I knew they would do well.”

MSU participants received the following awards:

n First place: Melanie Sheppard, physical agility; Brad Cooper, criminal law, upper division; and Nelson Staples, criminal law, professional division.

Second place: Joe Gordon, criminal law, lower division; Missy Omar, crime scene team, upper division; Grace Clark, physical agility and crime scene team, upper division; Mel-anie Sheppard, crime scene team; and Nelson Staples, physical agility.

Third place: Joe Gordon, firearms team, professional division, Missy Om-ar, physical agility; Mela-nie Sheppard, firearms team, professional division; Brad Cooper, juvenile justice, upper division; Nelson Staples, police management, professional division, juvenile justice, professional division, corrections, professional division and firearms team, professional division.

Kane praised Staples, a professor of criminal justice and faculty representative for the chapter.

“He put in a lot of extra time,” he said.

MSU has been selected to host the conference in 2009.

— E-mail: mjames@

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