UNH student pleads not guilty to murder charges

Suspended football player Henri “Hank” Hendricks, 21, pleaded not guilty on Monday, Sept. 10, to a murder charge, in connection with the May 24 beating death of professional surfer, Emery Kauanui.

Hendricks, a backup quarterback, was arraigned in San Diego Superior Court. He was suspended Friday from the UNH football team, according to a press release from the University of New Hampshire.

His bail was set at $500,000 and, as of Sept. 10, he had not yet posted bail but was expected to do so, according to San Diego District Attorney’s Office Communications Director Paul Levikow. Reports from the Associated Press indicate that bail was originally set at $750,000, while prosecutor Sophia Roach had requested that bail be set at $2 million.

Hendricks also pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery from an incident on New Years Eve.

Shock and disbelief have taken hold of UNH students in reaction to the charges.

“It’s hard, because you don’t know how much involvement there was from each person related to the case, like who threw the most punches. There’s no way to know. It’s just sad,” said junior Caitlin Arturi.

One female student close to Hendricks, who did not want to be identified, said, “He is a great guy, and I’m sure his name is going to be cleared.”

Students across campus are reacting to the charges, whether they knew Hendricks or not.

“It’s pretty horrible to think that someone at our school could possibly commit such a violent and senseless act,” said junior Mike Violandi.

Seth Cravens, 21; Eric House, 20; Orlando Osuna, 22; and Matthew Yanke, 21, are also charged with murder, assault and battery. According to San Diego Police search warrant affidavits, the men attacked Kauanui, a pro surfer from San Diego. The incident came following a bar fight earlier that same evening. All of the men charged, including Hendricks, are associated with a local surf gang that refers to itself as the “Bird Rock Bandits,” said Levikow.

According to the police affidavits, Kauanui spilled a drink on House, who was dancing with Kauanui’s ex-girlfriend at a local San Diego bar. The affidavits show the men began fighting and were kicked out of the bar.

According to Hendricks’ statement to the police, he had arrived in San Diego on the night of May 23 for summer break, and he went out to the bar with the group of men. After they were kicked out, Hendricks went with the four other men to Kauanui’s house.

Kauanui came outside and began fighting with House, and the other men quickly became involved, police affidavits show.

Allegedly, all five assaulted Kauanui, and Cravens delivered a blow to his jaw that knocked him to the ground. Hendricks, Craven, Yanke, and Osuna fled the scene.

According to the search warrant affidavits, Kauanui was conscious when the paramedics arrived, but he was bleeding from the back of his head. He died four days later from massive head injuries that he received during the fight.

new emergency notification system in place at UNH

Two bomb threats, sent by email to UNH employees in August and September, are still under investigation by state and federal law enforcement.

Deputy Chief of the UNH Police, Paul Dean, said the UNH Police and New Hampshire State Police have investigated two threats in the last 30 days. Before the most recent anonymous emails, the last bomb threat at UNH was reported in April. While the sudden influx may seem especially troublesome, Dean said all threats are treated with the same seriousness.
“Getting any type of threat is out of the ordinary,” he said.

The August threat was sent to UNH’s Office of Admissions in the Grant House. The anonymous threat also specified there was another bomb in a blue backpack at an unspecified location; however, no backpack was found and a bomb-sniffing dog found no evidence of a bomb in the building. The incident was later deemed a “hoax” by UNH police.

In early September, a threat was emailed to two separate faculty members in Morse Hall. A search of the building returned no evidence of a bomb, and the campus alert was lifted.

When asked if police believed the two emails to be related, Dean said the ongoing investigation prevents him from sharing details about the incidents, but that nothing is being left out.

“Anyone involved would be charged in both state and federal court,” Dean wrote in an email.

While all users of the UNH Blackboard network received Directed Communication email alerts about the August and September bomb threats, a new system is now in place at UNH to warn students and faculty quickly if a serious threat did occur on campus.

The new outdoor emergency notification system, donated by the Whelen Engineering Company, was installed last May. Four WPS2907 emergency warning speakers were placed around the Durham campus and are controlled by the UNH Police dispatch center. The system can also be activated remotely from a portable case that Dean carries at all times.

“The system is the best in the world,” Dean said.

When the system is engaged, a siren followed by one of 16 pre-recorded messages plays over the outdoor speakers. The canned messages include indications of severe weather, terrorist alerts, post-disaster announcements, hazardous material or chemical release warnings. The speakers are voice-capable, which allow a live voice to dispense specific instructions pertaining to the threat.

“We’ll give clear instructions,” Dean said.