Fourth arrested after drug incident at SAE

By Katie Gonzalez, The Dartmouth Staff

Published on Tuesday, May 25, 2010

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A fourth student was arrested Monday morning in connection to the alleged May 13 cocaine incident at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, according to a Hanover Police affidavit.

Sarah Koo ’10 was arrested for cocaine possession after being identified from a police photo line-up on May 19 by another female student. The student who identified Koo was the fourth person present in the pool room of SAE when Philip Aubart ’10 noticed cocaine and called Safety and Security. Koo was released on personal recognizance and has a court date scheduled for June 28, according to a May 24 Hanover Police press release.

Dean of the College Sylvia Spears told The Dartmouth that the College would support members of SAE in the same way the College will support any students who are dealing with the situation.

“Helping them make sense of it, helping them connect with resources, is what we would do regardless for what kind of issue it is, and that’s what we would be doing at this time,” Spears said. “I’m sure the deans have been in conversations with students who have expressed a desire to have some support.”

According to police reports, on May 13 Aubart witnessed four people leaning over a composite photograph that had been placed face-up on a pool table. When he realized there were lines of cocaine on the composites, Aubart called Safety and Security.

The female student told Hanover Police that “she [believed] someone was snorting cocaine when she was in the room,” but also confirmed that she did not see Shea use cocaine in her presence, according to the affidavit.

Koo’s arrest comes after three other students were charged last week in connection to the incident. Brian Shea ’10 was charged with cocaine possession and Andrew Lohse ’12 was arrested for cocaine possession and witness tampering. Clark Warthen ’10 was arrested for witness tampering and criminal liability for the conduct of another, according to the affidavit.

Aubart, formerly the house manager at SAE, told Hanover Police that he had discovered a smudged composite with white powder residue in the physical plant during Winter term. He subsequently sent an e-mail to all fraternity members discouraging such activity in common rooms, stating that Safety and Security would be notified if the activity continued.

Safety and Security Sergeant Wayne Agan arrived at the scene at approximately 2:30 a.m., according to the affidavit. Once Safety and Security identified the white powdery residue on the composite as cocaine, Officer Matthew Ufford of the Hanover Police Department was dispatched to the scene, the affidavit stated.

Ufford did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Shea admitted to consuming large quantities of alcohol in the hours prior to the arrival of Safety and Security and told police that he had “no memory of anything involving cocaine,” according to the affidavit. Both Shea and Lohse denied involvement in the possession and use of cocaine, according to the affidavit. Shea, Lohse and Warthen each has a court date in June.

Aubart was allegedly subject to harassment by various members of the fraternity because he reported the incident to Safety and Security, who then turned the investigation over to Hanover Police, according a segment of Aubart’s statement to Hanover Police included in the affidavit. Officials’ investigation of the harassment claim led to the witness tampering arrests.

Lohse allegedly spat on Aubart and poured out a beer on the door of Aubart’s room in the fraternity’s physical plant, according to an e-mail written by Aubart and sent to Hanover Police Officer Rolf Schemmel, which was included in the filing.

Warthen allegedly confronted Aubart in the bathroom of SAE as well as the Hopkins Center for the Arts last Thursday, according to the affidavit. In a May 14 e-mail addressed to three members of the fraternity, Warthen allegedly asked those members to destroy a table created by Aubart.

“It would really mean a lot to Brian, and would be a great signal to Phil that it’s not just a small contingent of people in the house that despise him,” Warthen allegedly said in the e-mail, according to the affidavit.

In a May 18 meeting with Hanover Police, Warthen told Hanover Police Captain Frank Moran that his last e-mail regarding Aubart was sent on May 13, according to the affidavit.

Although SAE president Brandon Floch ’11 had previously stopped one fraternity member from hitting the table repeatedly with a fire poker, Aubart later discovered the majority of the table destroyed and the pieces burned on the fraternity’s grill, the affidavit said. Other members allegedly attempted to break into Aubart’s room to urinate on his belongings, according to the report.

Aubart subsequently moved out of his room at the fraternity and into a dormitory, according to the affidavit. Aubart also reported that someone urinated on his door, which seeped into his old room in the fraternity and “soiled a pair of socks that were lying on the floor,” the affidavit stated.

According to New Hampshire law, a person may be charged with criminal liability for the conduct of another if he or she “causes an innocent or irresponsible person to engage in such conduct.” The first offense for possession of cocaine is a Class B felony, which is subject to not more than a $25,000 fine and punishable by three-and-a-half to seven years in prison. Tampering with witnesses and informants is also a Class B felony, subject to the same punishments.

Warthen and Aubart declined to comment for this article. Shea, Lohse and Koo did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Schemmel declined to comment when contacted.