Two more students charged in UConn accident probe
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

Two more University of Connecticut students have been charged in connection with the Jan. 20 hit-and-run incident that took the life of Carlee Wines, 19, of Manalapan, on the university's campus in Storrs.

One of the two students who was arrested last week is a resident of Freehold Township.

Police announced that UConn students Kenneth Rusterholz, 21, of Trumbull, Conn., and Matthew Gallo, 20, of Freehold Township, were arrested and charged with providing alcohol to underage students who attended a party at their residence the night of the incident.

Rusterholz told police he only knew about 75 percent of the people at the party. It is alleged that the people who were in the vehicle at the time Wines was struck attended the party at some point during the evening.

Wines was struck as she crossed a street near the UConn campus in the early morning hours of Jan. 20. She died on Jan. 22 in a Hartford hospital from injuries sustained in the incident.

Anthony P. Alvino, 18, of Linden-hurst, N.Y., who was a student at St. Bonaventure University, Olean, N.Y., on Jan. 20, has been arrested and charged with being the driver of the car that struck Wines and fled the scene.

Additional UConn students have been arrested and charged with other crimes in connection with the incident.

The vehicle believed to have been involved in the UConn incident was subsequently located on Long Island, N.Y.

According to a police affidavit filed in the matter, in an interview that was conducted in the weeks following Wines' death, Rusterholz admitted to police to having purchased two half-barrel kegs of beer for his party. Rusterholz told police he charged people $5 each in order to pay for the beer and the after-party cleanup.

Police went to the liquor store where Rusterholz purchased the beer and were able to confirm from a receipt that Rusterholz, a resident of Trumbull, Conn., had submitted an Oxford, Conn., address at the time of purchase.

During a police interview, Gallo admitted to contributing $30 toward the purchase of the beer and accompanying Rusterholz to the liquor store to buy the kegs, according to the affidavit.

Rusterholz was charged with procuring alcohol for minors, a felony offense, and with disposing of alcohol without a permit, a misdemeanor offense.

Separate press releases issued by the UConn Police Department announcing the arrests of Gallo and Rusterholz each contain the statement, "No one was checking identification to determine the age of those consuming alcohol and no permit was obtained as required by law."

Rusterholz and Gallo each paid $5,000 bail and were released. Their cases are now pending court action.