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9 indicted in hazing incident at YSU's KAP fraternity
YOUNGSTOWN
A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted nine people charged in the beating of two Youngstown State University students during hazing rituals for fraternity membership.
Judge Elizabeth Kobly of Youngstown Municipal Court, during a preliminary hearing last month, cleared the way for the grand jury to hear the cases against the men. The grand jury handed up the indictments Thursday.
Michael Charles, Jason Anderson, Jairus Ford and Jerome Justice waived their right to a preliminary hearing and were sent to the grand jury. Lavell Sharp, Trey McCune, Wade Hampton and Edward Robertson were bound over after testimony from one of the victims.
The case against Raheem Satterthwaite was presented directly to the grand jury.
The nine men range in age from 21 to 32.
All nine are charged with two counts each of felonious assault. They each are free on a $50,000 bond.
Breylon Stubbs, 22, a YSU sophomore, told the court last month that he and life-long friend Resean Yancey, 20, were beaten so badly during pledging rituals for the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity that both were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Stubbs said he and other pledges were at first made to attend study sessions to learn more about the fraternity and its history. He said the sessions progressed to nightly rituals in which he and Yancey were consistently beaten.
The two students were beaten with fists, a paddle and sometimes a wire clothes hanger.
Yancey spent time on a ventilator after one of the beatings.
Each felony count against the men carries a maximum eight-year sentence.
The fraternity also will pay a price for the actions of its members. Kappa Alpha Psi will be suspended from Youngstown State University for 15 years for hazing and various other violations of the Student Code.