A Louisiana State University student was arrested in connection to an alleged hazing incident that put a fellow fraternity member on life support from alcohol poisoning, officials said Wednesday.
Terry "Pat" Reynolds II faces charges of one count of felony hazing, one count of felony failure to seek assistance and 12 misdemeanor hazing counts, according an arrest warrant affidavit filed by campus police.
He was arrested on Monday and released after posting $13,500 bond, according to jail records for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
"The university has stated on multiple occasions that hazing will not be tolerated and the university acts swiftly when any hazing allegations are brought forth," LSU said in a statement.
The incident unfolded late on the night of Oct. 18 and into the early morning hours of Oct. 19 after Reynolds, who is the "new member educator" on the pledge board of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, demanded that several new members come to his off-campus house, according to the LSU police affidavit.
"New members present, including Victim 1, were instructed to finish the alcohol provided to them as a group," the affidavit said.
"According to some of the interviews, the Defendant would not allow the new members to leave until they consumed the entire bottle. Interviews also detail how the Defendant would then retrieve more alcohol for them to consume because they did not finish the previous bottle fast enough."
The LSU student referred to as victim 1 was taken to a local hospital where he "had to immediately be put on life support" and had "a pink frothy foam coming from his mouth and nose, which indicated organ failure," the police affidavit said, adding that his body temperature had dropped to 93 degrees and he had a blood-alcohol level of .451.
The student survived and "was released from the hospital a few days later, is our understanding," a university spokesperson said.
Reynolds' defense lawyer said there was no hazing and that the other students involved were already members of the fraternity.
“My client didn't have any anything to do with this," lawyer Lewis Unglesby told NBC News on Wednesday. "My client is a fine young man and didn't haze anyone."
Unglesby acknowledged that students were at Reynolds' home and consuming alcohol, but he said no one was forced to to drink.
"These kids were already initiated into the fraternity; they weren't getting hazed," Unglesby said.
Police said Reynolds knew revelers at his home were drinking unhealthy amounts of alcohol and in a text message to fellow fraternity members said the drinking students "are at my house" and "will need rides y'all better figure it out," according to the affidavit.
Representatives for the national fraternity, based out of Indianapolis, could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.
