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Police Issue 19 Citations In CSU Drinking Investigation

CSU President Appoints 19 To Alcohol Abuse Board, Suspends Beer Sales

POSTED: 5:36 pm MDT September 16, 2004
UPDATED: 8:58 pm MDT September 16, 2004

Fort Collins police said Thursday they have issued 19 citations to Colorado State University students accused of obtaining liquor for underage drinkers -- this as a result of the investigation into the death of Samantha Spady.

Spady was the 19-year-old CSU student who died at the Sigma Pi Fraternity house on Sept. 5 from alcohol poisoning.

None of the 19 students who were issued citations were charged in her death and it was unclear if the citations were directly connected with the death. It was also unclear if those issued summons were members of the fraternity where Spady hung out or the sorority that she once belonged to.

Yahoo.com
This picture, labeled 'Superbowl Drunkie,' shows Spady (center) and six friends prior to her death. The date of the picture is unknown.

Investigators discovered Spady's Web site after her death. It contained pictures of Spady and her friends appearing to drink hard alcohol, something prohibited for people under 21. It wasn't clear if Thursday's citations were the result of police identifying possible underage drinkers in the photos.

Police scheduled a Friday morning news conference to answer further questions about the citations and the continuing investigation. They have been working to detail Spady's final hours and how she obtained the alcohol that killed her.

Police identified those issued summons as: Craig Arguello, Robert Agboyani, Ashley Steranka, Jason Max, Colin Sharpe, John "Bobby" Jennings, Sara Williams, Travis Prott, Kade Koenig, Brenton Hoff, Tyler Ley, Antonio Nolasco, Kathryn McBride, Fredlina Solano, Erin Taylor, Bianca Pugh-Miller, Margaret Crider, Baylor Ferrier, and Robert Quinlan. All were either 19 or 20 years old.

News of the citations came just a few hours after CSU president Larry Penley suspended all beer sales at Hughes Stadium for the duration of the football season. Penley also named members of a newly formed alcohol and substance abuse task force.

"In naming this task force and in moving to suspend beer sales at the stadium, we are establishing the right environment for the task force to succeed and for the recommendations to have a lasting and positive impact on our community," Penley said Thursday in a statement.

Spady's death and two riots this semester involving CSU students have been linked to alcohol use.

The task force will be led by Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, and will look at several issues including binge drinking and underage drinking. It will also look into fraternity and sorority systems and the culture on the CSU campus involving alcohol and substance abuse.

Earlier this week, it was announced that CSU vendors would be allowed selling more potent beer at the stadium this football season. Sodexho, the food and beverage contractor for Hughes Stadium, had received a new permit that allowed it to sell wine, hard liquor and beer with alcohol percentages over 3.2 percent.

Although Penley's announcement means that no alcohol will longer be sold in the stands, students and football fans can still have alcohol in the parking lot during tailgate parties.

Spady's official cause of death won't be released until Friday, although early reports suggest that she had a blood alcohol level of 0.43 percent -- five times the legal limit for driving in Colorado.


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