Task Force arrests three in Rowan U. gunpoint robberies

Authorities released the names this morning of three Salem County men arrested yesterday and charged with two gunpoint robberies of Rowan University students.

The alleged gunmen were identified as Lance M. Husser, 23; Landis M. Husser, 20, and Ernest J. Watson, Jr., 23, all of Woodstown. Each is charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and aggravated assault. Lance and Landis Husser also are charged with firearm possession.

The three men are being held at the Gloucester County jail on $250,000 bail.

Authorities allege that the men held up three freshmen on Nov. 11 as the students walked behind a campus maintenance building. An unnamed 19-year-old male was beaten during the robbery, which occurred shortly before 1 a.m.

Ten minutes later, police charge that the gunmen also robbed Michael C. Phelan, a 25-year-old student, near an off-campus apartment complex. Phelan was pistol-whipped during the incident. The victims' wallets and cell phones were taken in both robberies.

"We don't know exactly why [the gunmen] were on campus, said Rowan spokesman Joe Cardona. "We haven't determined whether they were there specifically to rob students or if they were visiting friends."

Cardona credited a task force of Glassboro police and Rowan campus security for the arrests.

"It was classic good police work that led to the arrests," Cardona said.