3 plead guilty in EKU hazing but records could be cleared by year's end
By Ashlee Clark
Lexington Herald-Leader
Posted on Monday, Jan. 05, 2009
RICHMOND — The three men charged with the beating of an Eastern Kentucky University student as part of a fraternity hazing ritual will each serve at least 30 days of home incarceration for the assault and could potentially have their records expunged by the end of the year.
Thomas Barnes, Alonzo C. McGill and Gabriel M. McLaren pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault charges Monday morning in Madison District Court. They beat Brent Whiteside last year while he was a candidate for admission into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity chapter at EKU. Whiteside was later hospitalized with kidney failure.
The cases were set to go before a district court jury Monday morning for a two-day trial, but the plea agreement was reached before Madison District Judge Earl-Ray Neal seated the jury.
The lengths of the men's home incarceration sentences vary according to their involvement in the hazing and cooperation with police. McLaren, who was in charge of the pledge process within the fraternity, will serve 100 days. McGill, an alumnus of the chapter who lives in New York, will serve 70 days. Barnes was the first defendant to talk to police and will serve 30 days.
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