TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Four of the men who pleaded guilty in the hazing death of Kappa Phi pledge Andrew Coffey are now in jail.
Brett Birmingham turned himself into the Leon County Detention Center on Tuesday. An order setting his report date said he was to be at the jail no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Two of the men who plead guilty in the hazing death of Kappa Phi pledge Andrew Coffey are now in jail.
Kyle Bauer turned himself into the Leon County Detention Center on Friday around 10 p.m. after pleading guilty on Monday.
Conner Ravelo turned himself into the Leon County Detention Center last month to begin serving his time.
Bauer and Ravelo are the only ones in jail at this point.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Five men charged in the hazing death of Pi Kappa Phi pledge Andrew Coffey will spend time in jail after pleading guilty on Monday.
Five months after the death of Andrew Coffey, five students charged with hazing were finally back in court physically to accept plea deals, avoiding a trial and felony charge.
The deal offered by the state includes a reduced charge and less jail time, but there are several conditions that come with probation.
Christopher Hamlin, John Ray, Brett Birmingham and Kyle Bauer all had plea hearings scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. They all plead guilty to two counts of misdemeanor hazing.
"Had we gone to trial on only the felony that we would have prevailed, but that's not the way it works in the courtroom," said Fred Conrad, the attorney for Birmingham. "The jury always has the opportunity to consider a lesser included offense, and when you take that into account, this was in my client's best interest."
Conner Ravelo officially took a plea deal Monday that included jail time. He turned himself into the Leon County Detention Center last month to begin serving.
The Coffey family was present at the hearing and was seated with a victim advocate.
Before sentencing began, a five-minute statement was read by Coffey’s mom, Sandra. She fought back tears as she explained how Andrew’s death has devastated her family. His parents are calling for an end to all fraternity hazing.
After that, Ravelo, Coffey's Big Brother, was the first to step up to the judge. Unlike the other four men, Ravelo was in handcuffs and jail garb. He has already served 20 days in jail as part of his plea.
While there, he turned toward the Coffeys and read an apology he wrote. He said he was “sorry for not thinking” and promised to be “part of the solution,” not the problem. He plead guilty and the judge accepted his plea.
After Ravelo's sentencing, Bauer, Hamlin, Ray, and Birmingham followed, all of them pleading guilty as well.
All the men will spend 60 days in jail (except Ravelo, who will spend 30 days because of his cooperation), will be on probation for the next two years, will attend a hazing awareness class, will not be allowed to consume alcohol and will be subject to random testing, and will be required to testify and publicly speak about the dangers of hazing and binge drinking when requested.
Additionally, each defendant must write a letter of apology to the Coffey family and pay court costs and fines.
Coffey's family approved the conditions. His parents shared their grief in court.
"He has been tragically taken away from us. We will never be able to understand that," said Sandra and Tom Coffey, the parents of Andrew Coffey. "Andrew died alone in a room full of people, and we will never be able to understand that."
While four other students charged in Coffey's death are taking their chances at trial, Coffey's family is going after the national Pi Kappa Phi organization.
"When the exact same facts are repeated year after year after year by this fraternity that has mastered the art of this Big Brother Night," said David Bianchi, the attorney for Andrew Coffey's family.
The Coffeys' attorney says this isn't the first time Pi Kappa Phi has been at the center of a hazing tragedy. He said the death of a freshman in Cal State Chico's chapter 18 years ago was similar to that of Andrew Coffey's and the family wants fraternity hazing to end all across the country.
According to his attorney, Ray will be turning himself in by 6 p.m. on Monday to begin serving his sentence. The jail roster indicated Monday night that Ray was booked there on two counts of hazing. Everyone else, with the exception of Ravelo, will turn themselves in by 5 p.m. April 20, 2018. They have 30 days to appeal the sentencing.
The other four defendants will go to trial in June.
On November 3, 2017, 20-year-old Andrew Coffey was found unresponsive after a party hosted by the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity called "Big Brother Night."
