Nine Louisiana State University fraternity members were arrested in connection to hazing-related activities that were reported last fall, school officials confirmed.The LSU students, some from the New Orleans area and the rest from other parts of the state, were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Officials said the students belonged to the LSU chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon.A spokesperson for LSU identified the students in a news release: Charles Eugene Brakenridge, of Ferriday; Blake Andrew Chalin, of Gretna; Cade Rain Duckworth, of Lafayette; Gaston Thomas Eymard, of Kenner; Shakti P. Gilotra; Joseph Dylan Harkrider, of Zachary; Malcolm Richard McNiece, of Baton Rouge; Alexander Joseph Rozas, of Jennings; and Garrett Joseph Sanders, of Minden.The students, who range in age between 19 and 23, were arrested on separate charges that include principal to criminal hazing, criminal hazing and second-degree battery.Officials made the announcement about the arrests weeks after the national DKE organization announced it had closed its LSU chapter. The closure happened as LSU cracks down on unsafe fraternity and sorority practices after the 2017 death of Phi Delta Theta pledge Maxwell Gruver, of Georgia.The 18-year-old Gruver died during a hazing ritual that required pledges to chug hard liquor. His blood alcohol level was more than six times the legal limit. "This type of behavior is unacceptable and at complete odds with what we expect from our students. It does not belong at LSU," said Jason Droddy, interim vice president for strategic communication.Droddy commended the national DKE organization for shutting down the LSU chapter. He said there were also several witnesses who cooperated with the investigation, which he said shows a "growing recognition that hazing and other harmful activities cannot be tolerated. ""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," Droddy said.Additional details about the investigation were not released.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up! Nine Louisiana State University fraternity members were arrested in connection to hazing-related activities that were reported last fall, school officials confirmed. The LSU students, some from the New Orleans area and the rest from other parts of the state, were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Officials said the students belonged to the LSU chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Advertisement A spokesperson for LSU identified the students in a news release: Charles Eugene Brakenridge, of Ferriday; Blake Andrew Chalin, of Gretna; Cade Rain Duckworth, of Lafayette; Gaston Thomas Eymard, of Kenner; Shakti P. Gilotra; Joseph Dylan Harkrider, of Zachary; Malcolm Richard McNiece, of Baton Rouge; Alexander Joseph Rozas, of Jennings; and Garrett Joseph Sanders, of Minden. The students, who range in age between 19 and 23, were arrested on separate charges that include principal to criminal hazing, criminal hazing and second-degree battery. Officials made the announcement about the arrests weeks after the national DKE organization announced it had closed its LSU chapter. The closure happened as LSU cracks down on unsafe fraternity and sorority practices after the 2017 death of Phi Delta Theta pledge Maxwell Gruver, of Georgia. The 18-year-old Gruver died during a hazing ritual that required pledges to chug hard liquor. His blood alcohol level was more than six times the legal limit. "This type of behavior is unacceptable and at complete odds with what we expect from our students. It does not belong at LSU," said Jason Droddy, interim vice president for strategic communication. Droddy commended the national DKE organization for shutting down the LSU chapter. He said there were also several witnesses who cooperated with the investigation, which he said shows a "growing recognition that hazing and other harmful activities cannot be tolerated." "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," Droddy said. Additional details about the investigation were not released. Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!<doc-sep>9 Louisiana State University students arrested for hazing fraternity pledges originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Nine members of a fraternity at Louisiana State University were arrested Thursday in connection to hazing activities that allegedly took place throughout the fall semester, officials said. The university confirmed that Charles Eugene Brakenridge, 23, Blake Andrew Chalin, 20, Cade Rain Duckworth, 23, Gaston Thomas Eymard, 23, Shakti P. Gilotra, 22, Joseph Dylan Harkrider, 19, Malcolm Richard McNiece, 23, Alexander Joseph Rozas, 23, and Garrett Joseph Sanders, 21, all were booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges ranging from criminal hazing to felony battery. The young men, who are current and former students, all were members of the university's now-closed chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. "This type of behavior is unacceptable and at complete odds with what we expect from our students. It does not belong at LSU," Jason Droddy, interim vice president for strategic communications at Louisiana State University, said in a statement Thursday. "This is a sad day for the university, but one that illustrates the cultural shift occurring at LSU." (MORE: Family of deceased Ohio University student sues fraternity, claiming 'extensive' mental and physical hazing caused death) The Louisiana State University Police Department received a report of hazing involving the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter on Jan. 18. Subsequent interviews with several pledges, or probationary members attempting to join the fraternity, determined that numerous hazing incidents took place throughout the fall semester, between Aug. 20 and Dec. 8, according to arrest affidavits. During interviews with police, pledges described incidents in which they were struck with a pipe, punched, kicked and slapped. Most pledges also spoke about an incident in which McNiece poured gasoline on a pledge, who then had trouble seeing because some of the fluid had gotten in his eyes and he had to rush to the shower, according to the arrest affidavits. Story continues One pledge described an incident in which he was forced to strip down to his underwear and climb into an ice machine that was filled with water and ice, where he was made to stay for 30 to 45 minutes and feared he would be "beaten up" if he didn't obey. He was then taken out and made to lay on top of broken glass on a nearby basketball court. Another pledge was forced to lie face down next to him while they were both "sprayed with a hose, had milk crates thrown at them and were urinated on," according to the arrest affidavits. The pledge told police that Duckworth was the individual who made him get into the ice machine and "actively participated" while he was lying on the basketball court, according to the arrest affidavits. (MORE: Parents mourn son's 'senseless' and 'horrific' death following alleged hazing incident at LSU fraternity) Duckworth and McNiece are not registered students this semester, and Duckworth also was not enrolled in the fall 2018 semester, when the alleged hazing incidents occurred, the university said. Duckworth faces the most serious charges, including criminal hazing, felony battery and false imprisonment, according to the arrest affidavits. Duckworth, McNiece and the seven other defendants in the case did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment. (MORE: Details revealed from deadly night of alleged hazing at LSU fraternity) Delta Kappa Epsilon's national organization said it cooperated with police in the investigation and "acted decisively" last month in shuttering its chapter at Louisiana State University "upon learning of extremely disturbing hazing allegations." "In our ongoing educational programming regarding hazing prevention, we emphasize to our undergraduates that individuals should and will be held accountable for their actions," the fraternal organization said in a statement Thursday. "We will continue our efforts to eliminate hazing where ever and whenever it occurs." It's not the first time fraternity members at the Louisiana State University have been investigated for hazing. In September 2017, 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver died after authorities said he and other pledges were forced to drink during an alleged hazing ritual at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity's on-campus house.<doc-sep>
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University announced the arrests Thursday of nine fraternity members for hazing-related crimes that included ordering pledges to lie in piles of broken glass, kicking pledges with steel-toed boots and urinating on them. The men arrested, ranging from ages 19 to 23, were members of Delta Kappa Epsilon. The university said their charges range from misdemeanor hazing to felony second-degree battery and false imprisonment, as the university toughens its approach to such incidents after the death of a pledge in a fraternity drinking ritual more than a year ago. DKE’s national organization closed LSU’s century-old chapter last month, saying members violated the organization’s alcohol and hazing policies. LSU said the hazing allegedly happened last fall. “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. Fraternity members poured gasoline on pledges, forced them to submerge themselves in an ice machine wearing nothing but their underwear, attempted to burn them with cigarettes and beat them with a metal pipe, according to arrest warrants. Police said its interviews determined “many incidents of hazing took place throughout the fall 2018 semester.” One victim “stated that after he was taken out of the ice machine, he was made to lay in the nearby basketball court. He stated that the basketball court had broken glass all over it, which he was made to lie on top of,” the documents say. “The victim stated that another pledge was made to lie on the court next to him, face down while they were both sprayed with a hose, had milk crates thrown at them and were urinated on.” Another pledge said members of the fraternity “attempted to burn him with cigarettes and seemed to be attempting to extinguish their cigarettes on him. The victim stated that he fled the area in order to not get burned,” one arrest warrant says. Among the allegations, the documents describe fraternity members making pledges hold a milk crate filled with ice and cayenne pepper above their heads while standing in a cold shower and looking up, which caused the ice to melt and the pepper to drip into their eyes. The ritual, police wrote, was called a “new boy shower.” Arrested on misdemeanor and felony counts, according to information provided by LSU, were: Cade Duckworth, 23, of Lafayette; Gaston Eymard, 23, of Kenner; Shakti Gilotra, 22; and Malcolm McNiece, 23, of Baton Rouge. Those arrested on misdemeanor counts, LSU said, were: Charles Brakenridge, 23, of Ferriday; Blake Chalin, 20, of Gretna; Joseph Harkrider, 19, of Zachary; Alexander Rozas, 23, of Jennings; and Garrett Sanders, 21, of Minden. It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday if the men had lawyers representing them. “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 national DKE organization issued a statement from executive director Doug Lanpher saying the group “supports all efforts to hold individuals accountable and eradicate hazing from college campuses. Last month, DKE acted decisively in closing our LSU chapter upon learning of extremely disturbing hazing allegations.” Lanpher said the national organization cooperated with LSU police in the investigation. 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.