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9 LSU fraternity members arrested after alleged hazing incident

WBRZ reports the alleged incidents happened in Fall 2018. DKE was removed from LSU's campus in January.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Nine members of LSU's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity were arrested Thursday and booked for hazing-related activities that allegedly happened last fall, the university confirmed.

LSU spokesperson Ernie Ballard III said the alleged incidents happened in the fall of 2018.

The men arrested, ranging from ages 19 to 23, were members of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Their charges range from misdemeanor hazing to felony second-degree battery and false imprisonment.

RELATED: Arrest warrants paint picture of harrowing hazing at LSU fraternity house

"This type of behavior is unacceptable and at complete odds with what we expect from our students. It does not belong at LSU," university spokesman Jason Droddy said in a statement.

WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge reports DKE's national organization closed LSU's century-old chapter last month, saying members violated the organization's alcohol and hazing policies. The national organization ordered the chapter to cease all activities and operations and disband after an investigation found members "made choices inconsistent with the policies and values of DKE."

"This is a sad day for the university, but one that illustrates the cultural shift occurring at LSU," Droddy said. "The quick action by the national DKE organization by revoking the chapter's charter and the cooperation of several witnesses in this investigation demonstrate a growing recognition that hazing and other harmful activities cannot be tolerated."

The arrests come as LSU cracks down on fraternity and sorority activities following the September 2017 death of 18-year-old freshman Maxwell Gruver, of Georgia, who died in what authorities describe as a hazing-related drinking ritual in another fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. Gruver's blood alcohol content was six times higher than the legal limit for driving.

Louisiana lawmakers toughened the state's laws against hazing last year at the urging of Gruver's parents.

On Friday, LSU President F. King Alexander released a statement, saying hazing will not be tolerated on campus.

"We are making important cultural changes, and remain committed to weeding out dangerous behavior in our student organizations. Hazing will not be tolerated on our campus. It is a criminal activity that destroys lives. We have taken aggressive steps toward eradicating this destructive element from our campus, and you are witnessing some of the fallout from our continued pursuit of a better, stronger campus culture for our students.
 
As part of our ongoing battle against hazing, nine members of the DKE fraternity were arrested yesterday. Today, we received an allegation regarding the reaction of some administrators after hearing a rumor regarding the DKE chapter, and they have been placed on leave while we investigate this situation.
 
Individuals with knowledge about such activities taking place must share that information so that the appropriate steps can be taken to protect our students. Students, faculty and staff must continue to work together so that we can once and for all rid our organizations of this toxic and illegal behavior."  

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, all 9 mugshots of the students arrested have not been made available.

Warrants issued for 9 fraternity members

The following DKE fraternity members were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison:

  • Charles Eugene Brakenridge, 23, Ferriday, La. - 1 count of Principal to Criminal Hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of criminal hazing - representative duty to report (misdemeanor)
  • Blake Andrew Chalin, 20, Gretna, La. - 3 counts of criminal hazing (misdemeanor)
  • Cade Rain Duckworth, 23, Lafayette, La. - 3 counts of criminal hazing (misdemeanor); 1 count of attempted second-degree battery (felony); 1 count of second-degree battery (felony); and 1 count of false imprisonment (felony)
  • Gaston Thomas Eymard, 23, Kenner, La. - 1 count of criminal hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of second-degree battery (felony)
  • Shakti P. Gilotra, 22 - 1 count of criminal hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of second-degree battery (felony)
  • Joseph Dylan Harkrider, 19, Zachary, La. - 1 count of criminal hazing (misdemeanor)
  • Malcolm Richard McNiece, 23, Baton Rouge, La. - 4 counts of criminal hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of second degree battery (felony)
  • Alexander Joseph Rozas, 23, Jennings, La. - 1 county of principal to criminal hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of criminal hazing - representative duty to report (misdemeanor)
  • Garrett Joseph Sanders, 21, Minden, La. - 1 count principal to criminal hazing (misdemeanor) and 1 count of criminal hazing - representative duty to report (misdemeanor)

LSU's Statement about the arrests

LSU released the following statements regarding Thursday's arrests:

“We can confirm that nine members of the LSU chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon, or DKE, have been arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for hazing-related activities that are alleged to have taken place in the fall of 2018. This type of behavior is unacceptable and at complete odds with what we expect from our students. It does not belong at LSU.

This is a sad day for the university, but one that illustrates the cultural shift occurring at LSU. The quick action by the national DKE organization by revoking the chapter’s charter and the cooperation of several witnesses in this investigation demonstrate a growing recognition that hazing and other harmful activities cannot be tolerated. The LSU Police were dutifully informed of the incidents by the national organization and initiated the investigation, which concludes with today’s arrests.

We continue to seek the support of more alumni groups and national organizations to be actively involved in helping to change the culture and prevent this type of behavior from occurring in the future.”

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Stay with Eyewitness News on WWL-TV and WWLTV.com for more on this developing story. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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