Hanover Police arrested Marshall Bass '94 on Sunday for allegedly shooting Clark Khayat '93 with a pellet gun outside of Alpha Delta fraternity in the early morning of Sunday, Jan. 30.
Bass was charged with simple assault and reckless conduct, two Class B misdemeanors that each carry a maximum fine of $1200, Hanover Police Sergeant Frank Moran said. Neither offense is punishable by jail, Moran added.
Police took an intoxicated Bass into protective custody immediately after the incident.
The confrontation began when AD brothers and a group of students gathered outside the fraternity house began exchanging snowballs shortly after 2 a.m., Hanover Police Sergeant Lawrence Ranslow said last week.
According to witnesses, Bass, a member of AD, fired a pellet gun into the crowd and hit Khayat in the forehead.
Khayat was treated for a minor head wound at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center at 3:30 a.m., DHMC Administrative Coordinator Kathy Dalton said.
The arrest follows a one-week investigation headed by Moran, who decided not to charge Bass with a Class A offense, which carries the potential for a jail sentence.
Moran said he did not believe the particular circumstances of the case warranted such a severe punishment.
"We didn't appear to have a case where we felt the need for jail time," Moran said.
Bass was released on personal recognizance and will be arraigned in Hanover District Court on Feb. 23, Moran said.
Moran, who is one of the town's two prosecutors, said a plea bargain was possible, but could not speculate on what such an agreement might entail.
If Bass is found guilty, the incident would become part of his criminal record.
Bass could not be reached for comment.
