Former Rowan University student Robert Hardiman was indicted by a grand jury this week on drug and weapons charges. The indictment stemmed from an incident in April where police responded to a fire alarm in Triad Apartments.

Hardiman faces up to six charges, including possession of over 50 grams of marijuana and carrying a handgun without a permit on the campus of Rowan University, according to an indictment report from the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

When officers entered the apartment in April, they quickly discovered a number of exposed, live bullets and the smell of what was believed to be marijuana, according to a police report. The officers later returned with a search warrant, found a gun hidden in the bathroom ceiling, and found more than 35 rounds of ammunition, the report said. According to the report, officers also found marijuana, Oxycodone, an unknown white powder, and other drug paraphernalia.

According to the report, officers also found pay stubs and other documents that indicated Hardiman was living unregistered in Triad Apartments when in actuality, he was registered to live in the Rowan Boulevard Apartments. Police issued a warrant for his arrest immediately, according to an article from NJ.com.

The Glassboro Police also charged a fellow student, Emmanuel Flores, with unlawful possession of a handgun and unlawful possession of a firearm on a college campus, as reported by NJ.com. Flores posted $10,000 bail and was released, said the article.

Several days after the warrant was issued, police were tipped that Hardiman was back in Glassboro, as previously reported by the Whit. They urged residents to be extra cautious and report any sightings of Hardiman to either Rowan Public Safety or the Glassboro Police Department. Hardiman was eventually arrested in August, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

The incident in Triad apartments was not Hardiman’s first offense. In March, he was sentenced to 23 months in jail by a Pennsylvania judge after he assaulted his girlfriend during an argument while the two were at Lincoln University. The sentence also carried a punishment of 200 hours of community service, according to the Daily Local News. 

He was also sentenced to two years probation for beating a fellow student he suspected of stealing his laptop, said the article.

The Daily Local News reported that Hardiman remained out of custody, however, because Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft delayed Hardiman’s sentence until after May 10, so that he could finish his spring semester at Rowan before reporting to jail.

Reed Layton, the senior director of Rowan Public Safety, said Hardiman’s second arrest worsened his case.

“Between that case there, and the Rowan case here, he had violated his prior sentence,” Layton said.

Layton also said that based on the information Public Safety had collected, Hardiman had most likely been using Triad Apartments as a base of operations for a drug-selling operation.

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