East Greenville man convicted of assault on Ursinus campus

An East Greenville man has been convicted of assaulting a male campus safety officer at Ursinus College during a disturbance that occurred when the man was a student at the school in Collegeville.

Reiner James Mauer, 24, of the 200 block of East 6th Street, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of misdemeanor charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia, specifically a pill container containing various pills, in connection with the Oct. 2, 2014, incident inside the college’s campus safety office. Judge Gary S. Silow rendered the verdict after taking testimony at a nonjury trial.

Silow deferred sentencing Mauer, pending the completion of a presentence investigation. Mauer, who was permitted to remain free on bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 1½ to three years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence, including probation.

The investigation began about 11:10 p.m. Oct. 2 when a campus safety offi- cer discovered a backpack and clothing items in the common area inside Pfahler Hall. Visible in the backpack were a bottle of Bird Dog Whiskey, a bottle of Calico Jack Spiced Rumand a bottle of beer, according to the criminal complaint.

“With possession of alcohol in educational buildings a violation of school policy (the male safety officer) investigated further and began looking for identification in the bag,” Collegeville Police Officer Timothy Kennedy alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding the bag was linked to Mauer.

During a search of the backpack the college safety officer discovered eight rectangular pills wrapped in currency and a pill organizer containing several other types of pills, according to the arrest affidavit. Officials contacted Mauer, then a 22-year-old commuter student, to claim his belongings.

When Mauer arrived shortly before midnight, the safety officer advised Mauer that he would have to address campus policy violations with him.

“When (the campus safety officer) told Mauer this, he became very agitated and shoved (the officer) nearly knocking him to the ground and grabbed the backpack,” Kennedy alleged.

Hearing the struggle, a second campus safety officer, a female, left her workstation to assist in preventing Mauer from leaving the area, court papers indicate. Mauer refused to stop and tried to shove the female officer. For the next several minutes Mauer fought with the officers, “swinging his fists at them and pushing them around,” until police arrived, court documents alleged.

“Just a lot of pushing and shoving. We were being thrown around like rag dolls,” the female safety officer testified for Assistant District Attorney Richard Bradbury Jr.

In the criminal com- plaint police said “not until Mauer was forced to the ground was he able to be restrained and aggressive actions stopped.”

Mauer, who was represented by defense lawyers Frank Genovese and Martin P. Mullaney, showed no reaction to the testimony.

As a result of the struggle, the male campus safety officer suffered injuries to his left arm and was evaluated at a local hospital, according to the criminal complaint.

The judge acquitted Mauer of a charge he assaulted the female campus safety officer and of a charge of possessing a controlled substance.