Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Kentucky

[AdamKY]

From The Kentucky Kernal -student newspaper:


In response to an ongoing investigation, the UK Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter has been suspended from hosting and participating in fraternity-related events, effective immediately.


UK Police responded to a call to investigate an incident at the fraternity house on 410 Rose Ln. on Friday night. UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said UK student Sean Dunn was arrested and charged with first-degree arson, wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.
Dunn declined to comment on the incident.


According to a letter sent by Steve Priepke, SAE national executive director to the UK chapter, the suspension is a “result of the recent and potentially serious risk management violations … also in response to the recent fire-code violations and potential violation of university probation.”


UK spokesman Jimmy Stanton said the university fire marshal has closed the SAE house and its residents will be offered housing in the other UK residence halls for the remainder of the semester.


UK administrators, including Greg Williamson, university fire marshal, and Anthony Beatty, assistant vice president for public safety, met with residents of the SAE house Saturday to inform them the house would be closed for “life and fire safety reasons.”


The Dean of Students will review the alleged violations of the Student Code this week after it receives the police and fire marshal’s report, which will be released Monday.


The national fraternity suspended the UK fraternity Saturday until their investigation is complete. The national organization and UK Police are conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident. The UK chapter will remain suspended until the investigation is complete.


A spokesman for the UK SAE chapter could not be reached for comment.

[TSteven]

~~ This is crazy big (see bolded parts). By the way, Joseph Henry McKinley III is the sone of Joseph H. McKinley Jr. who is a United States federal judge.

UK fire marshal recommends frat house be closed two semesters
By Jennifer Hewlett and Beverly Fortune
Lexington Herald-Leader
Monday, March 08, 2010

The University of Kentucky's fire marshal, Greg Williamson, said Monday that he has recommended that the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, the scene of an apparent prank involving fire early Saturday, be closed for the rest of this semester and through the next semester.

Investigators discovered "multiple fire violations" at the building after a fraternity member allegedly set fire to a friend who was wrapped in toilet paper, Williamson said.

More than 40 SAE fraternity members have been relocated. UK made dormitory rooms available to them.

Sean P. Dunn, 19, of Hebron, is charged with first-degree arson, first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence after he allegedly struck a match, setting ablaze the toilet paper-wrapped victim.

According to court records, the victim was engulfed in flames up to his shoulders; he fell to the floor and began rolling around to extinguish the flames. The floor caught fire, and Dunn tried to stomp out the flames.

Dunn had first-degree burns on his hands, according to court records. The person who was set on fire was not taken to a hospital, UK spokesman Jimmy Stanton said.

Stanton said he was not aware of any other injuries.

Joseph Henry McKinley III, a resident of the SAE house, also was arrested on a charge of third-degree assault after he hit a UK police officer after the fire, Stanton said.

UK police found McKinley, 20, in a room as they were trying to make sure everyone had evacuated the building. McKinley indicated he did not want to leave, and an altercation followed in which McKinley struck an officer, Stanton said.

"This could have been a very serious situation. We really avoided this being a tragic situation," UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said. "Just a couple more minutes, and the student could have been seriously injured or the fire spread ... It could have been a tragedy."

Williamson said doorways were covered with blankets, and residents had rigged tentlike structures on beds using blankets, which could delay activation of the building's sprinkler system and hampers people getting out safely. Also, many candles were found during an inspection after the fire.

The house is about 10 years old.

The national chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has suspended the UK chapter, Stanton said.

SAE was founded at UK in 1900, making it one of the oldest fraternities on campus. Famous alumni include former Kentucky governors Keen Johnson and Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt, Outback Steakhouse founder Chris Sullivan and Lexington businessman and Thoroughbred horse owner William T. Young, for whom the UK main library was named.

[SydneyK]

^^^ I heard about this over the weekend, but all the reports were exceptionally vague. Now I understand why.

[AdamKY]

Early Saturday morning, March 6th, two incidents occurred at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house which resulted in the house being closed by the university fire marshal and the chapter’s operations being suspended by the fraternity’s national office. Two individuals have been charged with felony counts. One individual’s fraternity membership has been suspended. Here’s what lead up to the foregoing:

Fraternity member Sean P. Dunn, 19, allegedly set fire to a friend who was wrapped in toilet paper and was charged with first-degree arson, first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. The friend suffered minor scorching of his lower pants leg. Mr. Dunn received first degree burns on his hands which required no treatment. Mr. Dunn has been charged with arson and wanton endangerment. He was released to a family member, after his arrest, according to court records.

When the friend was engulfed in flames up to his shoulders he dropped to the floor and rolled about extinguishing the burning toilet paper but catching the floor on fire. Mr. Dunn immediately tried to stomp out the fire. Smoke produced by the blaze triggered the alarm system which summoned fire and police officials to the scene.

Upon arriving at the scene, university police conducted a sweep of the house to insure everyone had evacuated. In doing so they came upon Joseph Henry McKinley III, 20, lying on a couch and pretending to be asleep in one of the rooms. McKinley ignored the officers' request to go to the lobby of the fraternity house. McKinley suddenly said "f--- you" and began to swing his fist toward officers. One officer trying to apprehend McKinley was struck in the face, according to court records. McKinley was arrested and charged with third-degree assault for allegedly hitting a UK police officer and resisting arrest. He paid 10 percent of a $5,200 bond and was released from jail.

Both Dunn & McKinley have plead not-guilty in Fayette County District Court.

Although the fire damage was limited to a small area of flooring, multiple fire violations found in the house resulted in its closing. The university fire marshal said doorways were covered with blankets, and residents had rigged tent-like structures on beds using blankets, which could delay activation of the building's sprinkler system and hamper people getting out safely. Also, many candles were found during an inspection after the fire. Some 40+ fraternity members have relocated. The weekend incident is the latest in a series of troubles the fraternity and some of its members have had in recent years.

Additional details maybe found at:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/09/1...ents_Container

http://kykernel.com/2010/03/08/fire-...-of-sae-house/

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/09/1...raternity.html

[FHwku]

that house is huge. i can't imagine why they'd risk burning it and themselves to the ground.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Havent they been kicked off campus in the past for hazing and drugs? Wasnt a former house of their burned to the ground? Rumor has it William T. Young gave them the money to build that house.

T.Steven--You are older and better connected than I am to UK. Do you remember about their past?

[AdamKY]

ThetaPrincess24 -

The Western KY University SAE chapter house was destroyed by fire on April 10, 2005. The cause was determined to be arson. Not being an SAE myself, I am unable to comment on the details of past infractions.

W.T. Young was the principle and most visible donor of the present house at 410 Rose Lane. It replaced the former SAE chapter house at the same address.

[AdamKY]

The following is taken from Kentucky.Com :

Sean Patrick Dunn, a former University of Kentucky fraternity member accused in March of setting a fraternity brother afire in an apparent prank that went wrong, was indicted Tuesday by a Fayette County grand jury.

Dunn, 20, from Hebron, was indicted on a second-degree wanton endangerment charge for allegedly engaging in conduct that created a substantial danger of physical injury to John Pelosi, according to the indictment. Dunn also was indicted on a third-degree criminal mischief charge for allegedly defacing or damaging property at 410 Rose Lane, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. Both charges are misdemeanors.
The grand jury considered a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence against Dunn but dismissed it. Dunn's case will go back to Fayette District Court, which handles most misdemeanors.

The counts in the indictment are less serious than some of Dunn's original charges — first-degree arson, first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. David Franklin, Dunn's attorney, said the original charges had been overblown and were "ridiculous." "It was never arson — not in a million years," Franklin said.

According to police, Dunn struck a match, setting ablaze a toilet paper-wrapped Pelosi. Flames engulfed Pelosi up to his shoulders, and he fell to the floor and began rolling. The floor caught fire, and Dunn tried to stomp out the blaze, according to court records. The SAE house is currently closed under recommendation of the UK Fire Marshal.

Franklin said there was no burn damage caused to the carpet or the walls in the SAE house . "There was no damage, no burn spots. The criminal mischief they are charging him with cost $22 to clean a carpet which needed cleaning anyway," he said.

Dunn will appear for pretrial hearings in a few weeks. Franklin said he had not spoken with the county attorney yet, but he said he does not believe Dunn will receive the maximum sentence for this case.

Full text:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/05/26/1...raternity.html

[RU OX Alum]

These charges sound trumped up and ridiculous.

These guys sound like idiots.

Both statements are true. At least to me.

[Ghostwriter]

Sometimes you just can't fix DUMB!

[AdamKY]

Here is an update on the fate of one of the SAE members from The Lexington-Herald Leader:

A former president of the University of Kentucky Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity will serve no jail time on an assault conviction if he stays out of legal trouble for the next two years.

Joseph Henry McKinley III, 21, pleaded guilty last month to fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, as part of a plea deal.

In March, McKinley had been charged with third-degree assault for allegedly hitting a UK police officer and resisting arrest during an evacuation of the SAE house at 410 Rose Lane after an apparent prank there went wrong. He later was indicted by a grand jury...

Fayette Circuit Court Judge Thomas Clark sentenced McKinley to 12 months in jail, but conditionally discharged him for two years, according to court records. Unlike regular probation, a conditional discharge does not include supervision by authorities...

Comment: Don't think for a minute McKinley got off easy with simple probation. Somebody - likely his parents - are having to cover the substancial costs of legal representation. McKinley himself has added to his growing criminal record which will serious impact his employment opportunities in his future.

The complete story along with comments from the public can be found at: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/15/1...ont-go-to.html

[JohnnyCash]

My question is how much drugs were these guys on?

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by AdamKY

[/I]Comment: Don't think for a minute McKinley got off easy with simple probation. Somebody - likely his parents - are having to cover the substancial costs of legal representation. McKinley himself has added to his growing criminal record which will serious impact his employment opportunities in his future.

The complete story along with comments from the public can be found at: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/15/1...ont-go-to.html

I have reason to wonder about that if it is true that his father is U.S. Federal Judge.

[AdamKY]

From The Lexington Herald-Leader:

A former University of Kentucky student accused of setting a fraternity brother on fire in an apparent prank gone wrong was sentenced to two years of probation Wednesday.

Sean Patrick Dunn, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree wanton endangerment and 3rd-degree criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. He was charged after police said he wrapped fraternity brother John Pelosi in toilet paper and set him ablaze, causing an evacuation of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house at 410 Rose Street in March.

For the rest of this story go to:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/23/1...f-setting.html

[SOM]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

I have reason to wonder about that if it is true that his father is U.S. Federal Judge.

Can not tell if related but there is a judge by that very name:
http://www.kywd.uscourts.gov/JudgeDirectoryJHM.php