Seven former Chi Tau members, five of whom were Chico State students, avoided torture charges Friday and potentially life in prison when a judge said they were part of a student organization and will be charged with hazing.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Robert Glusman suggested that the men be charged with torture Aug. 12. After reviewing all of the facts from the preliminary hearing, Glusman ruled that torture charges did not apply. At Fridays hearing, he said they were part of a student organization and should be tried for hazing.
The seven men could be tried together or separately, depending on the next hearing. But District Attorney Mike Ramsey wants them to be tried together.
"Were saying, 'No, its all the same evidence,'" Ramsey said outside the courtroom.
The hazing resulted in the death of Chico State student Matthew Carrington last spring, police said.
Carrington died in the basement of Chi Tau on Feb. 2 while participating in a hazing ritual. He drank from a five-gallon jug of water and did calisthenics in the frigid basement until his heart failed from water intoxication, police said.
Three of the men who were with Carrington that night and one who police said planned the nights events are charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and a maximum of four years in prison with a $10,000 fine. The four are: Jerry Ming Lim, 25; Carlos James DeVilla Abrille, 22; John Paul Fickes, 19; and Gabriel John Maestretti, 22. Maestretti was not present at Fridays hearing, but he was represented by his attorney
Three other former fraternity members, Richard Joseph Hirth, 22; Michael Fernandes, 19; and Trent Stiefvater, 20, each face one count of misdemeanor hazing, which could mean a $5,000 fine and up to one year in jail.
While five of the seven men were enrolled at Chico State last semester, Fickes, Fernandes, Hirth, Stiefvater and Abrille are no longer enrolled at the university, according to a records search.
Whether the seven men are tried together or the men with felonies and misdemeanors will be tried separately depends on the outcome of the Sept. 12 hearing, Judge Stephen Benson said.
But if they are split up, that will most likely be the first fracture there could be seven trials, Ramsey said. The same evidence and same witnesses would be used at all of the trials, so it would be easier to keep them together, he said.
The defense attorneys requested another hearing Sept. 26 so they could bring up motions before the Nov. 2 trial.
"Were hopeful that it wont change," Ramsey said.
While Carringtons mother, Debbie Smith, and stepfather, Greg Smith, stood outside the courtroom Friday afternoon, Lim walked by. Smith turned to her husband and cried in his arms. She can't stand seeing Lim, she said to her husband.
After the hearing, Ramsey explained the defense attorneys continuances. The Smiths are frustrated with the on-going court procedures, they said.
Debbie Smith said, "It just seems like a big game theyre playing."
Lauren Brooks can be reached at
CORRECTION: Debbie Smith said she could not stand seeing Gabriel Maestretti's attorney, Anthony Cardoza, not Jerry Ming Lim.
Be the first to comment on this article!