Dallas Morning News
January 17, 2003
Prosecutor says victim's injuries warranted felony assault charges
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
Eight men were indicted Friday in connection with a fraternity-related hazing incident that seriously injured a 21-year-old Southern Methodist University pledge.
District Attorney Bill Hill said prosecutors chose to pursue felony assault charges rather than misdemeanor hazing charges against the men because of the seriousness of the allegations and the injuries the victim suffered.
"I think the actions of these eight men went beyond the prohibition of hazing," he said.
Filmon Berhe, Eric Bowie,
Jason Harkey, Onyekachi Ibekwe, Uche Kalu, Raymond Lee III, Brandon Perry and
Cornelius Smith Jr. face two to 20 years in prison if convicted of the second-degree
felony aggravated assault
charges.
Five of the men have been represented by attorney Ray Jackson, another by Heath Harris. Neither could be reached for comment Friday.
The fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, has said its national guidelines strictly prohibit hazing as a term or condition of membership. It also forbids pledges from submitting to hazing to obtain membership.
SMU has suspended Alpha Phi Alpha from campus.
According to police reports
and court testimony, Braylon Curry went into a coma after consuming large amounts
of water in a fraternity initiation ritual. Mr. Hill said the men beat the SMU
junior with paddles and their
hands during the December episode in an off-campus apartment.
After Mr. Curry became unconscious, the men stood him up and forced him to drink more. They also punched him in the stomach to make him vomit, Mr. Hill said.
"Somebody has to get these young men's attention that they can't do that and that they'll be prosecuted if they do," Mr. Hill said. "This young man was very fortunate that he did not die."
Attorneys for the men have
criticized prosecutors for seeking the felony charges rather than the misdemeanor
hazing offense. They have also said that if their clients were involved, they
did not know that drinking large
amounts of water was dangerous.
Defense attorney Heath Harris said at an earlier hearing that Mr. Curry was not held against his will and could have chosen not to take part.
At a hearing earlier this
month, SMU police Capt. Tommy Jones testified that the water-drinking incident
occurred on the last night of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity's initiation period.
The pledges were told that they
had to drink the water or they could not join the fraternity.
Mr. Curry became ill after
drinking a large amount of water and slipped into a coma. Water reportedly entered
his lungs, and he suffered a sodium imbalance from drinking so much water. Mr.
Hill said the condition was also
aggravated when the men forced Mr. Curry to throw up, causing some of the vomit
to also enter his lungs.
Mr. Curry is recuperating at his family's home in Maryland.
Five of the men are free after posting bail. Mr. Kalu is in the custody of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Mr. Adaryll and Mr. Harkey have not been arrested, though authorities said arrest warrants will be prepared for them next week.
