A Massachusetts man has been indicted on a second-degree assault charge after severely injuring a Franklin Pierce University student in December.
Travis P. Flagg, 19, of Gardner, allegedly “sucker punched” Alejandro Lopez-Wheeler, 22, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, around 1:17 a.m. on Dec. 1 at the Franklin Pierce University campus after a confrontation, court documents say.
The punch caused Lopez-Wheeler to fall and strike his head on the ground.
A police affidavit said Lopez-Wheeler was found unconscious on the pavement, bleeding from his head, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Lopez-Wheeler suffered a fractured skull, brain swelling, bleeding, fluid in the brain, and short term memory loss, the affidavit said.
Lopez-Wheeler’s mother Alba Lopez told the Ledger-Transcript at the end of December that her son’s condition was improving, and that he was at a rehabilitation facility.
Flagg was indicted by grand jurors at the Cheshire Superior Court on Feb. 25.
Indictments are not an indicator of guilt or innocence but show that a grand jury found there was enough evidence of a crime to bring the case to trial.
A motion for discovery hearing has been scheduled for March 15, while a final pre-trial date has been scheduled for Sept. 24.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com.