Alpha Chi Rho fraternity charged with furnishing alcohol

A Penn State fraternity faces furnishing charges after two underage women reported drinking at the house during a party.

According to the criminal complaint filed by State College police, on Sept. 28, two women, both 18, went with some friends to a party at the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity house along the 400 block of Locust Lane. The woman were reportedly allowed to enter the fraternity, and police say at no time were they asked for identification.

The group was told alcohol was being provided on the second floor of the fraternity, police said. Several people were reportedly in a room where several bottles of alcohol, including rum and vodka, were available.

One of the women asked a man in the room if she could have a drink, police said, and she was handed a bottle of rum. She reportedly proceeded to pour drinks of rum, vodka and juice for the group.

The women and friends went to the lower level where a DJ was playing music, police said, and left a short period of time after. They were allegedly observed by officers along the 100 block of Locust Lane with a strong odor of alcohol and showing signs of intoxication.

Both were taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment of alcohol poisoning, police said. Medical records show they had separate BACs of .286 percent and .223 percent. That’s nearly three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

Both the women and their friends provided statements to officers, police said.

Summons were issued to Alpha Chi Rho on Thursday by District Judge Carmine Prestia, according to court documents, charging the fraternity with misdemeanor counts of furnishing liquor to minors and unlawful acts relative to liquor. Summons are typically addressed to the fraternity care of the president, police said, who was identified as Michael Fuhrmeister.

Stricter enforcement of underage drinking was one of the Greek life changes outlined by the university in March in response to the hazing-related death of Beta Theta Pi pledge Timothy Piazza, 19, in February.

“Failure by the Greek-letter organizations to effectively prevent underage consumption and excessive drinking in their facilities and activities may lead the university to adopt further restrictions, including the possibility of declaring that the system must be completely dry,” Penn State said in a statement in March.

Alpha Chi Rho had already been placed on a one-year suspension in July for a hazing incident, according to university documents.

A preliminary hearing is slated for Nov. 8.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Alpha Chi Rho fraternity charged with furnishing alcohol."