“I have my license to carry a concealed firearm, and I was within my rights to brandish because my brothers and myself were in danger of severe injury.” “Yes, I drew my Glock 43 in self-defense,” wrote Secrest in a Nov. But he viewed the night differently than Easterling and his teammates did. “He was just threatening to shoot him,” Easterling said. It does not report that Phi Kappa Psi member Augustus L. “Augie” Secrest pulled a gun during the fight, Easterling said, and pointed it at the face of Easterling’s roommate without saying a word. The police account is incomplete, according to Easterling and other eyewitnesses. “Indiana police responded and estimated approximately 100 people in the area, but no victims, witnesses or suspects were located,” Schawl said. Office Lenhart was not available when sought for comment.Īt 12:54 a.m., they returned, in response to a report of a fight, said borough police Lt. Lenhart cited the four fraternity members. “It was a woman cop who was basically saying that.”īorough police records show that Officer Jenny L. “The police were telling guys on the team, ‘I understand if you want to fight them, we don’t blame you guys for that,’” Easterling recounted. Police tried to mediate and defuse the tension, Easterling said. “That was the striking point for everyone. The sight angered Easterling and his teammates. He literally didn’t even look like himself.” He broke bones in his face, broke his cheekbone, broke his jaw bone. “When I saw his face, it was, like, deformed. and my other friend sitting on the cop car,” Easterling said. Stevens could not be reached for comment.Īs police worked the scene, Easterling saw the extent of Stevens’ injuries. All four frat members were charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, according to a May 18 incident report obtained from borough police. Palmer, according to Indiana borough police records.Īt 12:25 a.m., Sunday, April 30, police arrived at the frat house in response to the first of three calls.

Stevens was beaten by four Phi Kappa Psi members - Jalen B. The altercation escalated when Phi Kappa Psi members referred to Stevens using the “N” word, Easterling said. just got jumped.’ And I’m just like, ‘F***, what are we gonna do?’” “And next thing you know, one of my roommates comes in and says, ‘J.R. “We were just chillin’,” Easterling said. But fraternity members pushed Stevens back. “J.R.” Stevens, tried to join his friends inside the fraternity house, Easterling recounted. One of his teammates, IUP defensive back Boniface K. “A lot of people think that the football team fought Phi Psi because we couldn’t get in,” Easterling said during a Nov. THE APRIL 30 IUP Phi Kappa Psi fight was neither fatal nor racial – no white frat members excluding black athletes – according to Easterling.

DiStefano were dropped at a preliminary hearing in November. According to online state court records, the charges against Brady C. More than two dozen fraternity members face charges, including involuntary manslaughter.Īt IUP, police charged a Phi Delta Theta member with aggravated assault and criminal homicide in what the county coroner ruled was a strangulation death of a fellow fraternity member on Feb. 4, 2017, after a hazing incident at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. One of the universities was Penn State, where Timothy John Piazza died on Feb. universities suspended all Greek activities, according to Newsweek magazine. In November alone, at least seven major U.S. The troubles include hazing, drinking, illegal drugs, sexual misconduct and racist and anti-Semitic slurs. THE STORY OF THAT early Sunday morning, as told by witnesses, university officials, borough police officials, police documents and court records, provides a local look at a widening national narrative of the troubled relationship between Greek social fraternities and college campuses around the country. In the early hours of Sunday, April 30, a fight broke out between fraternity members and football players. Shortly after midnight, the scene turned violent. It was the last weekend before the final week of spring-semester classes. Easterling, a defensive lineman for Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s football team, attended a party at Phi Kappa Psi, a social fraternity at 220 S. INDIANA – On Saturday night, April 29, Deandre L. Source: IUP Athletics website.īy Rachel Brieve, Madison Longenecker and Laura Scott Easterling, a defensive lineman for Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s football team.

Indiana phi psi