Karina Barriga Albring
News Editor
Authorities arrested a Keene State College student early morning on Thursday, March 28 after he allegedly bit another student on the lip in Randall Hall. Angel Melendez was charged with simple assault and one count of criminal contempt, Keene Police Department Lieutenant Shane Maxfield said.
According to the police report,, at the time of the attack, Melendez appeared to be intoxicated. “We don’t know if it was alcohol or some type of drug he had consumed, but his behavior indicated he was impaired,” Maxfield stated. KPD did not find any drugs at the scene of the assault.
According to the police report, KPD received a call from Randall Hall around 4:30 a.m. “We responded to the call and talked to the victim. Apparently, the boy tried to initiate a romantic encounter and the girl rejected him. Then he bit her and ran away,” Maxfield said.
The victim was taken to the hospital for injuries.
Melendez then ran out of the freshman residential hall and entered a house on Winchester Street, according to the KPD report. He was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to the Cheshire County Jail.
Melendez is due in court on April 4.
Melendez has had previous encounters with KPD. Prior to this assault, KPD Lieutenant Maxfield said Melendez was charged with possession of drugs and receiving stolen property.
He was out on bail by the District 8 Court in Keene. “We are charging him with one count of criminal contempt because he was out on bail and was supposed to behave and not commit any more crimes,” Maxfield said.
Regarding any disciplinary actions from Keene State College against Melendez, Associate Director of Residential Life Jim Carley explained he couldn’t comment on any specifics about the case.
Associate Dean of Student Life Kent Drake-Deese stated in an email that “Student conduct does not make specific comments regarding any specific cases.”
According to the college website‘s Student Conduct section, “College conduct proceedings may be instituted against a student who is subject to prosecution for violation of law in any judicial venue without regard to the pendency or outcome of the judicial proceedings, when the conduct alleged is also a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.”
The statement indicates that Melendez could be subject to disciplinary actions from KSC regarding the decision the District 8 Court in Keene takes today when he stands for simple assualt and criminal contempt.
According to the Student Handbook, the incident in Randall Hall would constitute a physical assault, defined by the college website as, “actual or attempted physically beating another and/or inflicting any menacing touch to his/her person or clothes.”
When asked about cases in which a student has been injured by an another student, Carley expressed, “Every situation is different. We cannot discuss specifics.”
Carley added, “When there is a physical altercation or any type of assault, depending on the information that we have about the incedent, the actions taken can go all the way from provocation, suspension, expulsion.”
Karina Barriga Albring can be contacted at kbarriga@keene-equinox.com