BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A judge’s illness is delaying a hearing for members of a Penn State fraternity charged after the FBI recovered security camera footage from a basement bar area the night a pledge was fatally injured.
FILE – In this May 5, 2017, file photo, Jim and Evelyn Piazza, center, stand by as Centre County, Pa., prosecutors discuss an investigation into the death of their son Timothy Piazza, seen in photo at right, during a news conference in Bellefonte, Pa. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday, May 1, 2018, that state prosecutors are dropping involuntary manslaughter and assault charges against five Penn State fraternity brothers related to the death of the 19-year-old Beta Theta Pi pledge from Lebanon, N.J., after a night of heavy drinking. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday, May 2, 2018, to determine whether there’s enough evidence to head toward trial on the remaining allegations. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP, File)
Twelve members of the shuttered Beta Theta Pi chapter face the Wednesday preliminary hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to send the charges to county court for trial.
Officials say a substitute judge may take over and preside later in the day.
They face charges related to the February 2017 death of 19-year-old pledge Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey, who fell several times and consumed a significant amount of alcohol at the house.
The hearing follows prosecutors’ announcement they’re dropping the most serious allegations of involuntary manslaughter and assault against five defendants.
By MARK SCOLFORO
