5 Plead Guilty In Florida State University Hazing Death
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Five men have accepted a plea deal and will serve jail time for the hazing death of a Florida State University student, who is from South Florida.
The men originally faced up to five years in prison for a felony hazing charge before agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor hazing charge.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports four of the men will serve 60-day jail sentences and a fifth will serve 30 days after cooperating with the investigation.
The men were in the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, where 20-year-old Andrew Coffey died of alcohol poisoning in November.
Coffey was a junior and a pledge. He died after being found unresponsive after a party. He had been given an entire bottle of Wild Turkey. His fraternity brothers did not call for emergency help until the next morning.
Conner Ravelo was the first to plea. He bought the bourbon using a fake ID. Ravelo is the only one to apologize in court.
"I apologize for all of this and I make a promise to you in moving forward I will be part of the solution and not part of the problem," said Ravelo in court.
With her husband gently rubbing her back, Andrew Coffey's mother was near tears as she told the court about her son.
"We are haunted by the image of Andrew being left alone in a room unable to get help from his own and without a single brother coming to his aid," said Sandra Coffey.
The death led to the university temporarily banning alcohol and social functions at fraternities and sororities.
Three of the remaining four defendants face a June trial date. A fourth could be delayed into the fall.
Coffey's parents have filed a negligence lawsuit against the fraternity, 11 fraternity members and a fraternity adviser. They are seeking unspecified damages for pain and suffering caused by their son's death.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
