A “skit” at a fraternity party that left a pledge with burns over 16% of his body led to authorities filing charges against four San Diego State University students, including the person who was injured.
Caden Cooper, 22, Lucas Cowling, 20, Christopher Serrano, 20, and Lars Larsen, 19, were arraigned Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges including recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public, and violating the social host ordinance, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said in a .
The charges stem from a Feb. 17 Phi Kappa Psi party that left Larsen injured with burns. At the time of the party, the fraternity was on probation by the university, the release states.
All four students were active members and pledges of Phi Kappa Psi, officials said. Cooper was the fraternity’s president, Cowling was on the pledge board, and Serrano and Larsen were pledges.
The district attorney’s office said Phi Kappa Psi threw a large party at their fraternity house and Cowling, Serrano, and Larsen “pre-planned a skit during which Serrano would set Larsen on fire.”
“After consuming alcohol in Cowling’s presence, the underage students executed the skit which caused burns to Larsen on 16% of his body, primarily on his legs. Larsen spent weeks in the hospital for treatment of third-degree burns,” the office said.
Officials accused Cooper, Larsen and Cowling of trying to cover up what happened by lying to investigators, deleting social media evidence, and telling other fraternity members to delete evidence and not to speak about what happened.
It’s not clear if the students have obtained attorneys who can speak on their behalf. Phi Kappa Psi did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The university said it was alerted to the incident after receiving an anonymous call in February reporting the hazing. The fraternity has been on an interim suspension, temporarily halting organizational activities while an investigation is conducted.
“The university has taken additional actions, but because of student privacy laws, those actions can not be disclosed,” the school said in a statement on Wednesday.
The university said it reported the incident to university police, which presented it to the district attorney’s office. The school has also launched an administrative investigation that “addresses both individual student conduct and the conduct of the organization involved.”
“The university prioritizes the health and safety of our campus community and has high expectations for how all members of the university community, including students, behave in the interest of individual and community safety and wellbeing,” the school said.
The students were released on their own recognizance and were prohibited from participating in any fraternity parties or any recruitment events for the fraternity. They are due back in court on March 18.
If convicted of all the charges, they face a sentencing range of probation up to seven years and two months in prison.
