A male student was assaulted and robbed on the Green just after midnight on Wednesday. The suspected assailants — Mark Ruppel, 26, of Canaan and Troy Schwarz, 20, of Lebanon — are charged with felony counts of second-degree assault, unarmed robbery and falsifying physical evidence. A third person was with the two suspects at the time of the attack, but he was not charged.
The individuals allegedly attacked Hubert Clark ’13 by surprise as he crossed the Green, striking and kicking him when he was on the ground, according to a Hanover Police press release.
Clark was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center by ambulance and treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to the release.Clark was put onto a stretcher on the Green at around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday. He was released from DHMC earlier today, Safety and Security director Harry Kinne said.
Hanover Police chief Charlie Dennis said he was not aware of any possible connections between the alleged assailants and the town of Hanover.
Master police officer Jeffrey Ballard responded to the Green after Safety and Security was notified about the assault. Officer Alex Tucker located the men matching the description of the alleged assailants. Later, stolen property was recovered in the possession of one of the suspects.
At this time, Hanover Police is not releasing information about the property or amount of money stolen, Dennis said.
Officers are still investigating the incident, and the release noted the potential for added charges and additional suspects.
Safety and Security director Harry Kinne alerted campus to the crime at 8 a.m. Wednesday. His email said that the student was treated at and released from a hospital following the reported crime.
Kinne said the individuals were taken into custody in Hanover near South Main Street.The suspects were issued no-trespass letters to prevent them from entering College property, Kinne said.
"We certainly take these responses seriously and are very pleased with Hanover's immediate response and their apprehension and arrest of the suspects involved," Kinne said.
Kinne would not speculate on the perpetrators' motives.
The most recent robbery in Hanover was in June 2013 at CVS, Dennis said. The last robbery on College property was in 2010, according to the College's most recent security and fire safety report, which was released last October.
"We don't have many incidences of robbery here on the campus," Kinne said. "I think in 11 years I can only think of three incidences, and one was not on campus but near campus."
Clark declined to comment. Ruppel did not respond to a request for comment, and a call to a phone number listed for Schwarz was not returned.
Ruppel and Schwarz will be arraigned today in Lebanon.
This article will be updated as more information is available.
