Former Northern Arizona University fraternity leader Carter Eslick was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of supervised probation Wednesday for his role in the alcohol-poisoning death of 18-year-old pledge Colin Daniel Martinez.
Eslick pleaded guilty to felony hazing in August following the Jan. 31 death at an off-campus Delta Tau Delta house in Flagstaff, The Associated Press reported. Martinez and three other pledges shared two large bottles of vodka during a recruitment ritual intended to make them vomit, according to court records.
An autopsy found Martinez had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.425%, more than five times Arizona’s legal driving limit. Witnesses repositioned him, checked his pulse and breathing and searched online for alcohol-poisoning symptoms overnight. Arizona’s Family reported no one called 911 until about six hours after that search.
Eslick, the chapter’s pledge master, provided the alcohol and explained the drinking game, prosecutors said. He apologized to Martinez’s family and accepted “full responsibility for the hand I played in that ritual.”
Judge Stacy Krueger said Eslick knew the activity was dangerous and was troubled that no one intervened. His probation requires 305 anti-hazing presentations, court updates every six months and abstinence from alcohol and nonprescribed drugs. He could serve another 305 days if he fails to meet those conditions.
Arizona law makes hazing a Class 4 felony when it results in death and provides limited immunity for someone who promptly seeks emergency help. Police initially arrested three fraternity leaders, but prosecutors indicted only Eslick after reviewing the evidence.
Northern Arizona University suspended the chapter, and Delta Tau Delta later closed it permanently. The university commissioned an independent review and said fraternity and sorority members must complete hazing-prevention training.
