By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Two former PIKE fraternity members who were charged in the death of Stone Foltz by alcohol poisoning following a fraternity initiation have been sentenced to jail.
Common Pleas Court Judge Joel Kuhlman imposed the sentences Wednesday after hearing from Cory and Shari Foltz, the victim’s parents, as well as the plaintiffs and the prosecution and defense.
Kuhlman levied the maximum sentences against both men, but suspended much of the time. Because the sentences will be served consecutively, both will serve 42 days in jail. They began those sentences on Wednesday.
Troy Henricksen, 24, the new member educator with the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at Bowling Green State University, was found guilty of eight counts of hazing, or complicity to haze, and seven counts of furnishing alcohol to an underage person. The balance of his time, 966 days was suspended.
Jacob Krinn, 21, Foltz’ fraternity “big brother,” was with the pledge at the event during which he downed a liter bottle of bourbon. He then dropped Foltz off at his apartment where his roommates found him unresponsive. Krinn had been found guilty of hazing, furnishing alcohol to an underage person, and obstructing official business. In addition to the 42 days jail time, he had 186 days of the sentence suspended.
Should either Krinn or Henricksen not fulfill the conditions of their sentences they could be ordered to serve that suspended time.
Stone Foltz’s parents asked the judge to impose the maximum sentences on the Krinn and Henricksen.
His father, Cory Foltz, told the court: “My son is no longer with our family. I mourn him every single day. He is my first thought in the morning, and my last thought before I try to sleep.”
He pleaded with Kuhlman to help the family in its fight against hazing by imposing “the harshest penalty.”
Shari Foltz during her statement before Henricksen’s sentencing recalled what she and her husband went through the days after her son was hospitalized.
Her son, she was told, was cardiac arrest and was going to be transported by air ambulance to a Toledo hospital. Stone only had 10 percent brain function. They would have to make the decision to remove him from life support. That it would take two to three days for is organs to be prepared for transplant. She recalled taking the hero walk before the transplant operation, listening to their son’s favorite music. And then having a doctor and nurse whisper in her ear: “It’s time to tell your son goodbye.”
As hard as all this was, she said, it was also hard to sit through the trial, and watch Henricksen smirk and laugh at the defense table. “At no point did we see any remorse.” It was hard to listen to his attorney Eric Long blame her son, his girlfriend and even her for her son’s death.
For his part Krinn’s attorney Samuel Shamansky called the prosecution “mean-spirited” and driven by an agenda. He suffered “the indignity of these false charges.”
Long noted that his client’s military career was ended because of the number of counts, including felony counts he was acquitted of, with which he was charged.
Though Henricksen, a member of ROTC at BGSU, was planning to report for Army Ranger training after graduation, that is no longer possible. He may be able to enlist at a further date if given a waiver.
He was expelled from BGSU, but was able to complete his degree at another institution.
Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said that while people want hazing to stop “they’re hesitant to hold anyone responsible for it.”
Holding these offenders responsible by sending them to jail would send a message, Dobson said. It would not end hazing, but it may save another family to go through the emotional trauma that the Foltz family endured.
Krinn and Henricksen knew what would happen at the big-little event, the prosecutor said. Krinn had told his girlfriend he would never go through it again, yet he cheered on Foltz and cajoled him to consume the entire liter of alcohol.
He never, as Shari Foltz pointed out, helped him by drinking some of the whiskey or pouring some out, as other big brothers had done for their littles.
Henricksen, Dobson said, has taken no responsibility for actions throughout the new member process.
In sentencing Henricksen, Kuhlman said that the defendant viewed himself as a leader but didn’t admit that the process he was an integral part of led to the death of Stone Foltz. Leadership was more than a resume builder, the judge said. It meant standing up for the others in his organization, and yet in his 90 minute interview with police, which Kuhlman said was helpful to the investigation, he continually called out other members of the fraternity as having their heads in the sand or being stupid. That’s why he had to step up and take the new member educator position, Henricksen claimed.
Krinn and Henricksen were both given two years of community control sanctions after their sentences. During that time, they must complete a mental health assessment, perform 100 hours of community service, including speaking out against hazing, and pay their fines and costs. Both men were ordered to obtain employment or continue their education. For Krinn that entails completing his schooling. He is now a student at Owens Community College, and requested that he be able to get release from jail to attend classes. That issue was not settled.
Henricksen was ordered to pay a $500 fine for every count related to underage drinking for a total of $3,500.
Legal action related to the death of Stone Foltz continues. His estate has filed a civil suit against Krinn , Henricksen and others involved in the case.
[RELATED: Family of Stone Foltz files civil suit against fraternity & members]
The family has also filed suit against BGSU.
In a statement issued by their attorneys while the sentencing was still in progress, they stated: “Bowling Green State University leaders knew the PIKE chapter hazed its pledges and did nothing to stop it. We demand accountability, not just for Stone, but for every parent across the country who is dropping off their child at college. We naively believed University leaders would live up to their legal obligations by protecting our son from harm.”
At a hazing summit hosted by BGSU earlier this month, BGSU President Rodney Rogers refused to comment on the ongoing litigation, but asserted the university and the family were on the same side in combating hazing.
