BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Paul Chergey, who two years ago led the Bow Falcons boys basketball team to the Class I title game, has been indicted on multiple charges involving the possession and sale of marijuana.

On Aug. 16, Chergey was indicted by the grand jury on two special felony counts of sale of a controlled drug, one felony count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled drug.

He paid $10,000 personal recognizance bail. He also waived his arraignment.

According to Merrimack County Attorney Dan St. Hilaire, if Chergey is convicted, the three special felony counts each bring one to three years in state prison, and the Class A misdemeanor warrants 12 months in a house of corrections.

Special felony penalties, said St. Hilaire, differ depending on the type of drug and quantity sold.

The charges stem from two separate incidents.

On May 31, Chergey, while in the area of 18 Longview Drive in Bow, allegedly sold less than an ounce of marijuana to an undercover police officer and a cooperating individual.

Then, on June 28, in the area of Page Road, Chergey allegedly was in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, which he intended to distribute, though there was, according to the indictments, no sale.

While St. Hilaire said he could not comment on specifics of the case, he spoke of the intent of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s drug task force.

“The drug task force works throughout the state and has several undercover officers from different police departments in the area assigned to the unit,” he said. “Either on their own, or with informants, they make contacts with suspected drug dealers and make arrangements to purchase drugs. Once one or in some cases two or three of those sales occurs, there is typically an arrest.”

The Bow Police Department is an active member of the drug task force.

Chergey is currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University, where he made an immediate impact as a freshman on the basketball team. Head coach Stan Spirou, when originally reached for comment, said it was the first time he heard of the charges.

Later, after conducting an internal investigation, Spirou said Chergey has been suspended.

“Nothing has been proven. I really don’t know much about it other than knowing he has been arrested. It’s an unfortunate situation,” Spirou said. “The only thing I do know is when an individual is arrested, no matter what their side of the story is or what they say happened, we have a policy that has to be played out.”

For now, Chergey’s scholarship is intact, and he continues his enrollment as a student.

Spirou said he has spoken with the player, who he said is “devastated” and “remorseful.”

Repeated attempts to reach Chergey for comment were unsuccessful.

“It’s not a positive thing for a program, but I’ve been doing this long enough that I know, right now, we need more information,” said Spirou. “I’ve been in this situation before, where things have worked themselves out through the judicial system.”

Spirou said he will speak with Chergey’s lawyer, Kevin Buchholz, in the near future.

A trial date has not been set.