Early Friday afternoon, Hanover Police was called to investigate a potential incident of theft from a private room in Phi Delta Alpha fraternity. Officers learned that a watch valued at $6,500 and a small quantity of cash had been stolen from an alumnus sleeping in the room in the early hours of Friday morning. After further investigation, the stolen items were recovered from Johnson's possession. Following his arrest, Johnson was incarcerated at the Grafton Country Correctional Facility.
Johnson was charged with receiving stolen property, a Class-A felony, after police officers identified him as a suspect. The charge is leveled when a suspect knowingly receives, conceals or disposes of stolen property. Both the Hanover Police Department and Phi Delt president Mark Andriola '14 confirmed that Johnson was the individual responsible for the incident on Friday.
Andriola said in an email that Johnson "barged his way out" of Phi Delt after stealing from the alumnus, pushing a number of Phi Delt members as he left.
"We are deeply disappointed that a member of the Dartmouth community would steal valuable items off another member of Dartmouth's person, especially a Phi Delt alum sleeping comfortably in his own fraternity," Andriola said.
Johnson is affiliated with Real Talk Dartmouth, the student group that organized the Dimensions protest in April. On Sunday after the theft, Real Talk posted an official statement that "above all, we believe in the accountability of individuals, institutions and structure" on its Facebook page.
Members of Real Talk declined to comment.
Safety and Security director Harry Kinne sent out a campus email on Friday evening, saying an alumnus reported that a student entered the room where he was sleeping and "made inappropriate contact with him" while removing valuables and cash.
A release from Hanover Police about the case did not mention the accusation of inappropriate contact.
Police captain Frank Moran said the nature of Johnson's crime will lead to the court "charging him in the alternative," an approach that could lead to multiple counts for just one crime.
"Some offenses contain multiple offenses," he said. "For example, stealing from someone's house is burglary, theft and could also be considered trespassing."
Although Johnson was initially arrested for the receiving stolen property charge, Moran said Johnson could also be charged with burglary and theft. Moran added that other possible charges against Johnson, unrelated to Friday's incident, were uncovered during the investigation.
Johnson is scheduled to appear in the New Hampshire Second Circuit Court on June 24, when all charges will be formalized.
Hanover Police officers arrested 17 individuals over Green Key weekend, Moran said. In total, 13 arrests were alcohol-related offenses.
Parker Gilbert '16, who was arrested on four charges of aggravated sexual assault on May 15, posted his $75,000 bail. He is no longer on campus but was forced to surrender his British passport. Gilbert's court date, which was scheduled for Monday, has been delayed a month to allow his attorney time to examine Gilbert's case, the Valley News reported.
