NEWPORT BEACH (CNS) - Misdemeanor charges were filed today against five UC Irvine fraternity brothers linked to the alcohol poisoning death of a fellow member.
The case stems from the alcohol overdose death of 18-year-old Noah Domingo on Jan. 12 in an off-campus fraternity house in Irvine.
Investigators did not find any evidence that hazing played a part in the death, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Domingo had joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity several months before attending a ``Big Brother Night'' party where he had been drinking, prosecutors said.
Zavier Larenz Brown, 21, Jonathan Anephi Vu, 22, Mohamed Ibragim Kharaev, 21, Caleb Gavin Valleroy, 20, and Jonathan Gabriel Villicana, 21, were all charged with a misdemeanor count of violating a city code prohibiting a party or gathering that includes underage drinking.
Brown was additionally charged with giving alcohol to a minor causing great bodily injury, and Vu was also charged with a count of furnishing an alcoholic beverage to a minor.
Brown could face up to 18 months in jail if convicted, and the rest could face six months in jail if found guilty.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 21 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
``Unfortunately, current law prevented prosecutors from filing anything more than a misdemeanor in this case,'' said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. ``The furnishing of alcohol to a minor that results in great bodily injury or death should be a felony, and the Orange County District Attorney's Office is pursuing legislation to make that change.''