Another former BGSU fraternity member pleads guilty in hazing death of Stone Foltz
Nearly a year to the day that Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson charged eight men in connection with Stone Foltz's hazing death, another former fraternity member pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Canyon Caldwell, 21, of Dublin, was convicted on one count of obstructing justice and eight counts of misdemeanor hazing in Wood County Common Pleas Court.
Caldwell had previously been indicted on third-degree felony involuntary manslaughter, third-degree felony tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, eight counts of hazing, seven counts of failure to comply with underage alcohol laws, and obstructing official business.
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The involuntary manslaughter charge against Caldwell was dismissed, and the tampering with evidence charge was amended to the obstruction charge, a fifth-degree felony. That charge carries with a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
All remaining misdemeanors were also dismissed.
Foltz, a 20-year-old Bowling Green State University student from Delaware, died March 7, 2021, of fatal alcohol intoxication. He had been hospitalized two days earlier after drinking a handle of hard liquor, approximately 40 shots, during an annual "Big Brother Night" event held by Pi Kappa Alpha International, the fraternity he was rushing.
Caldwell was one of several people who leased the off-campus house where the initiation event took place, Dobson said in a statement.
According to Dobson, after police showed up at the house and indicated they would be back in the morning, Caldwell and others filled garbage bags with evidence of the event and another roommate took the bags off the property.
"As the picture has become even clearer, the role that Mr. Caldwell played in the event that led to Stone’s death was less significant than the others indicted," Dobson said. "It is our responsibility as prosecutors to bring the right justice to bear on these cases. Mr. Caldwell’s plea means that we have five convictions, four of which are felony convictions resulting from this event. We continue to prepare for trial on the rest."
Caldwell is the third person charged in Foltz's death to plead guilty in the last week.
Ben Boyers, 21, of Sylvania, pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree felony reckless homicide, fifth-degree felony obstructing justice, and eight counts of misdemeanor hazing.
On Friday, Jarrett Prizel, 19, of Olean, New York, pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and eight counts of hazing. He was the first to plea that he was directly responsible for Foltz's death.
Aaron Lehane, 21, of Loveland, and Niall Sweeney, 21, of Erie, Pennsylvania, have also pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
A trial is scheduled to begin May 16 for the case’s three remaining co-defendants: Jacob Krinn, 20, of Delaware; Troy Henricksen, 23, of Grove City; and Daylen Dunson, 20, of Cleveland.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. You can reach her at shendrix@dispatch.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @sheridan120. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and her education newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Stone Foltz: Former fraternity brother pleads guilty in hazing death
