Chico hazers all go to jail

[hoosier]

Hazing case comes to a close
Lauren Brooks
Staff Writer
November 24, 2005


OROVILLE – Two former Chi Tau men charged with misdemeanor hazing were sentenced to about a month in jail and two years of probation at a settlement conference at the Butte County Superior Court Wednesday.

Trent Stiefvater, 21, pleaded guilty to the hazing charge and will begin his 30-day sentence_in the Butte County Jail on Nov. 28. Richard Joseph Hirth, 23, pleaded no contest to the hazing charge and will serve 45 days in jail beginning Dec. 7, said Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell.

The maximum sentence could have been one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, said District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Stiefvater and Hirth were the last two men in the hazing case to be sentenced.

“It’s a wrap up,” Ramsey told reporters outside the courtroom.

Now, it’s time to get the message out that hazing is a criminal act that has serious consequences, Ramsey said.

On Feb. 2, fraternity pledge Matthew Carrington died of water intoxication during a hazing ritual in the Chi Tau house’s basement, police said.

A trial for the former fraternity men was set for Nov. 2, but on Oct. 28, four men pleaded guilty to misdemeanor hazing. Three of these men_also pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter charges.

Gabriel John Maestretti, 22; Jerry Ming Lim, 25; John Paul Fickes, 20; and Carlos James DeVilla Abrille, 23, are currently serving jail sentences, which range from 90 days to one year.

The men followed suit with former Chi Tau member Michael Fernandes, 20,_who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor hazing charges on Oct. 3 and received 30 days in jail.

Fernandes received a lighter sentence because he was the first one to plead, Ramsey said.

Besides_jail time and probation, the judge said Stiefvater and Hirth will each pay a $500 fine, cooperate with anti-hazing outreach programs and write letters of apology to Carrington’s parents.