BY RYAN O'CONNOR

In the midst of facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly possessing and selling marijuana to an undercover officer with the Attorney General’s drug task force, Paul Chergey again finds himself in trouble with the law.

The former Bow High School basketball star and current Southern New Hampshire University hoopster was suspended indefinitely after Penmen head coach Stan Spirou was informed of the allegations.

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Chergey was arrested by the Hooksett Police Department following an on-campus fight and was charged with reckless operation of a vehicle and being a minor in possession of alcohol, both misdemeanors.

Hooksett Police Capt. Paul Cecilio said witnesses claim Chergey was racing a vehicle around the parking lot.

Cecilio added that the 19-year-old has three outstanding bench warrants out of Concord District Court. Chergey’s lawyer, Kevin Buccholz, was unavailable for comment.

The two misdemeanor counts carry up to a year a piece, in addition to the drug charges that bring one to three years in prison for each special felony count and 12 months in the House of Corrections for a Class A misdemeanor.

Chergey may also lose his license for up to a year if convicted of reckless driving.

Dr. Scott Kalicki, vice president of student affairs at the university, said incident reports indicate Hooksett police were called at the request of Chergey’s combatant during the altercation.

Kalicki said the school is investigating the incident.

“Any time there is a physical altercation, we quickly do fact-finding, assuming both parties are responsible for the altercation and take it from there unless there is evidence that an individual was purely acting in self defense and couldn’t extricate themselves from the situation,” he said. “Certainly both students will be under review for this incident.”

Both men involved were examined and offered medical attention.

Both declined, said Kalicki.

Southern New Hampshire University athletics director Skip Polak, who is in his 32nd year with the institution, said if the allegations regarding the possession and sale of drugs are accurate, the charges are the most serious ever brought against a Southern New Hampshire University student athlete.

Still, Polak said he has yet to see, first hand, the actual indictments, though he acknowledged he and Jim Winn, the school’s director of safety, met with Chergey in person on Friday, Sept. 21.

“It’s really a school issue first and foremost. We have a disciplinary protocol that we, as an institution, follow,” said Polak. “Right now, it’s in a fact-finding stage, so to speculate in anyway would be premature at this point.”

Still, Kalicki said Chergey may receive further disciplinary action, the extent of which has yet to be determined.

“We’re really talking about two separate things,” he said. “One is a student handbook violation based on violent act on campus that we consider a major violation in which a student can be removed from residence halls or the academic
institution for an extended period of time.

“The other, equally, is something we will try to get more information on  and monitor,” Kalicki said. “When we believe we have enough information, we’ll put him through the proper judicial process on campus.”

According to the Kalicki, the SNHU handbook indicates a student may not disrupt relationships within the university and surrounding community, which the felony charges fall under.

“There is a whole set of ranges, which becomes a challenge for us because we’re not holders of the information,” he said.

“We simply have Paul’s brief version of what took place, so, until we find out more, we have no other immediate action other than what the basketball coach has decided.”