Two members of Bones Gate fraternity were arrested and charged by the Hanover police yesterday afternoon for possession of marijuana, and two more students will be arrested for possession soon, said Detective-Sergeant Frank Moran of the Hanover Police Department.
Hanover police arrested Josh Winterhalt '97 and Paul Manger '97, who both live on the second floor of the Bones Gate house, yesterday.
Moran said police have an arrest warrant for another member of Bones Gate for possession of marijuana as well as "another narcotic substance." As of yesterday evening, that arrest warrant had not yet been served.
Moran said he also has an arrest warrant for a member of Zeta Psi fraternity for possession of marijuana. This warrant had not been served as of yesterday evening, either.
He said police obtained a search warrant to search the Zete brother's room and found marijuana. Moran would not comment on when the room was searched.
Moran said this charge is not related to the Bones Gate arrests and is from "another search on another day."
Hanover police seized "items suspected of being controlled substances" from the rooms of Winterhalt, Manger and the third Bones Gate brother during Winter Carnival weekend.
The police were at the fraternity house in response to a fire alarm pulled at a party that night.
The seized evidence was sent to a forensics lab and the results came back last week, identifying the seized exhibits as controlled substances.
Moran said he contacted Winterhalt and Manger yesterday and they came down to the police station.
According to a press release, each student was "notified of the arrest and turned himself in."
Winterhalt said he believes the charges served against him are unjust and unwarranted. He said prior to the fire alarm his room was open and "dozens of people" were in it.
"No actual marijuana leaf was found, and the alleged bottle of seeds confiscated was not mine, but to prove that in court would entail over $1,000 in lawyer's fees, but in not contesting the charges I would face a significantly lesser monetary penalty," Winterhalt said.
Moran said a marijuana possession arrest is class B misdemeanor, and the largest penalty it can carry is a $1,200 fine.
Moran said the penalty for the individual charged on two counts will depend on the superior courts. He said the penalty for possessing a narcotic could be fines or jail time.
"I can't say what will happen, I haven't consulted the county attorney," Moran said.
He added he doesn't "think this person has a history" of drug convictions and he thinks it is unlikely he will serve time.
Manger declined to comment on the charges.
Last week, Dean of the College Lee Pelton told The Dartmouth that the College will take action against the students or the house if they have "violated any College rules."
Pelton said there is a College rule that states students must obey all local and state laws.
Bones Gate President Jeremy Stackawitz '97 previously told The Dartmouth the investigation was not a house issue. He said while members of the fraternity were under investigation, the house as a whole was not.
