Nine pledges from fraternity arrested over weekend
Nine CU fraternity pledges are facing severe punishments after allegedly causing over $10,000 worth of damage to a Super 8 Motel room last Sunday in Estes Park.
According to a press release from the Estes Park Police Department, officers responded to an anonymous report of a loud party coming from the pledges’ room at 2:30 a.m. Inside, they observed a variety of damages ranging from broken appliances to the presence of vomit and blood on various surfaces.
“[The pledges] said they just got out of control,” said Estes Park Police Detective Rick Life.
Life said members of the Delta Chi Fraternity dropped off 10 pledges at the motel and told them to “get to know each other.” One of those pledges decided to leave when things began to get out of hand.
Life also said alcohol was found in the room including bottles of liquor and a keg of Keystone Light. He said it has not been determined where the alcohol came from.
The offending pledges were identified by the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office as Matthew Bowen, Britt Chester, Anthony Cronin, Lukas Feyh, Kyle Jungels, Kyle Maltz, William Martin, Nicholas Mortimer and Andrew Sapiro.
All nine pledges were arrested and sent to the Larimer County Detention Center in Fort Collins, where Life said they were released later that afternoon. They face charges of criminal mischief and underage drinking.
The damages described the press release include one large hole and several smaller holes in the walls of the motel, ceiling fans taken down from the ceiling and torn apart, shower curtains and rods torn down and dismantled tables and broken lamps, among other damages.
CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard described the incident as ridiculous and unnecessary.
“What we have asked [fraternities] to do is live up to the values listed in their charter,” Hilliard said. “I think there needs to be some soul-searching that comes out of this.”
Hilliard said the CU Code of Conduct follows all students off campus, meaning that the pledges could face further penalties from the judicial affairs processes. He also said the judicial affairs processes are not dependent on the outcome of the criminal justice process.
In response to the offense, Delta Chi Fraternity headquarters has suspended its CU chapter. Hilliard said that since 2002, seven fraternities have suspended their Boulder chapters for similar incidents.
“We’re not happy about this at all,” he said.
Delta Chi released a statement Tuesday night which stated: “Delta Chi as an international organization will hold our members accountable for their actions. We will conduct a thorough investigation in accordance with the due process established in our constitution, by-laws and regulations, and appropriate actions will be taken as a result of that investigation.”
No one from Delta Chi Fraternity could be reached for comment.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer George Plaven at George.Plaven@colorado.edu.
