BOWLING GREEN — A fifth defendant in the case of Stone Foltz’s hazing death has pleaded guilty, marking the third person in five days to do so in Wood County Common Pleas Court.
Canyon Caldwell of Dublin, Ohio appeared Wednesday before Judge Joel Kuhlman and was convicted of obstructing justice and eight counts of misdemeanor hazing, Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said in an update.
In addition to the hazing charges, Caldwell had originally been indicted with third-degree felony involuntary manslaughter, third-degree felony tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor involving the provision of alcohol to underage individuals, the update on Wednesday said.
Mr. Foltz was a 20-year-old Bowling Green State University student when he died from alcohol poisoning on March 7, 2021. He had ingested a copious amount of alcohol at an initiation event for the fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha, and his blood-alcohol level was at least five times the legal limit when emergency services arrived on-scene.
The involuntary manslaughter charge against Caldwell was dismissed and the tampering charge was amended to the obstruction charge, which is a fifth-degree felony, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday.
The remaining misdemeanors were also dismissed.
Caldwell is one of eight individuals who had been indicted by the Wood County grand jury on various misdemeanor and felony charges.
According to the statement of facts made by Mr. Dobson, Caldwell was one of a number of individuals who leased the house where a fraternity event took place, when new members are introduced to their active member mentors.
On Tuesday, Ben Boyers, 21, of Sylvania pleaded guilty to third-degree felony reckless homicide, fifth-degree felony obstructing justice, and eight counts of misdemeanor hazing.
On Friday, Jarrett Prizel of Olean, N.Y. changed his plea to guilty to reckless homicide and eight counts of hazing.
Before Prizel’s plea change, both Aaron Lehane of Loveland, Ohio and Niall Sweeney of Erie, Pa. entered guilty pleas – however, neither involved a charge that directly arose from Mr. Foltz’s death. Boyers, Prizel, Lehane, and Sweeney are scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. June 16.
On Tuesday, Mr. Dobson said that none of the four defendants who had pleaded guilty at that point were expected to be sentenced to prison.
The case’s three other co-defendants include Troy Henricksen of Grove City, Ohio, Daylen Dunson of Cleveland, and Jacob Krinn of Delaware, Ohio. They are scheduled for trial on May 16.
A sentencing date for Caldwell was not immediately known Wednesday.
First Published April 27, 2022, 11:01 p.m.
