5 men convicted in Stone Foltz hazing case receive their sentences; Cleveland native gets 3 weeks in jail
Four of the five defendants were found guilty of felonies, with all of those receiving jail time. Three more men are still awaiting sentencing.
Editor's Note: The attached video originally aired on May 28, 2022.
Several men convicted in the hazing death of Bowling Green State University student Stone Foltz heard their sentences Thursday afternoon.
Foltz had attended an off-campus Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity event in spring of 2021, at which new members received mentors from among the older fraternity members. Court documents show those older members gave new members liquor and told them to drink the whole bottle.
Foltz allegedly drank all, or nearly all, of his bottle before he was dropped off at his apartment and later found unresponsive by his roommate and other friends.
They called 911 and tried to save his life, but Foltz ultimately died March 7, 2021.
Eight men faced charges in relation to his death. Six of those men took plea deals, two others were convicted at trial.
Below is a breakdown of the cases for the five men who were sentenced Thursday.
Sentencing Five of the eight men convicted learn their sentence
Benjamin Boyers, 21, of Sylvania
Sentenced to 28 days house arrest, two years of probation.
Original charges were dropped in April 2021. In August, he was indicted on additional charges. He entered a not guilty plea for those new charges, but then changed his plea to guilty April 26, 2022.
Original charges (dropped):
- Count 1 through 5 – Hazing (Misdemeanor)
New charges:
- Count 1 – Involuntary Manslaughter (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 2 – Tampering with Evidence (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Counts 3 through 10 – Hazing (Misdemeanor)
- Counts 11 through 17 – Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Convicted of (plea deal):
- Count 1 – Reckless Homicide (third-degree felony)
- Count 2 – Obstructing Justice (fifth-degree felony)
- Counts 3 through 10 – Hazing (misdemeanor)
Daylen Dunson, 21, of Cleveland
Sentenced to 21 days in jail, 28 days of house arrest, three years probation.
Pleaded not guilty to all charges on May 24, 2021. On May 5, 2022, he changed his plea to guilty on multiple charges.
- Count 1 – Involuntary Manslaughter (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 2 – Tampering with Evidence (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 3 – Obstructing Justice (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 4 – Obstructing Official Business (Misdemeanor, 2nd degree)
- Counts 5 through 12– Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
- Counts 13 thru 19 – Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Convicted of (plea deal):
- Count 1 – Reckless Homicide (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 2 – Tampering with Evidence (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 3 – Obstructing Justice (Misdemeanor)
- Count 4 – Obstructing Official Business (Misdemeanor)
- Counts 5 through 12 – Hazing (Misdemeanor)
- Counts 13 through 19 – Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Jarrett Prizel, 19, of Olean, N.Y.
Sentenced to 28 days in jail, 28 day of house arrest, two years probation.
Originally pleaded not guilty to all charges on May 24, 2021, but then entered a change of plea on April 22.
- Count 1 – Involuntary Manslaughter (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Counts 2 through 9 – Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
- Counts 10 through 16 – Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Convicted of (plea deal):
- Count 1 – Reckless homicide (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Counts 2 through 9 – Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
Niall Sweeney, 21, of Erie, Penn.
Sentenced to 24 days in jail, 28 days under house arrest, two years probation.
Originally pleaded not guilty to all charges on May 26, 2021, but then entered a change of plea on Sept. 21. Counts 2, 3, and 5-17 are dismissed. He will be sentenced June 16.
Original Charges:
- Count 1 – Involuntary Manslaughter (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 2 – Obstructing Official Business (Misdemeanor, 2nd degree)
- Counts 3 through 10 - Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
- Counts 11 through 17 - Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Convicted of (plea deal):
- Count 1 – Tampering with Evidence (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 4 – Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
Aaron Lehane, 21, of Loveland
Sentenced to 28 days under house arrest, two years probation.
Originally pleaded not guilty to all charges on May 26, 2021, but then entered a change of plea on Oct. 21, 2021. Counts 12-17 are dismissed. He will be sentenced June 16.
Original charges:
- Count 1 – Obstructing Justice (Felony, 3rd degree)
- Count 2 – Obstructing Official Business (Misdemeanor, 2nd degree)
- Counts 3 through 10 - Hazing (Misdemeanor, 4th degree)
- Counts 11 through 17 - Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
Convicted of (plea deal):
- Count 1 – Obstructing Justice (Misdemeanor)
- Count 2 – Obstructing Official Business (Misdemeanor)
- Counts 3-10 – Hazing (Misdemeanor)
- Count 11 – Failure to Comply with Underage Alcohol Laws (Misdemeanor)
What comes next? Three men left to be sentenced
Three men are still set to be sentenced for convictions stemming from Foltz's death, including Troy Henricksen and Jacob Krinn, who were the only two to stand trial.
Krinn will be the first of the three to hear his sentence, with a date set for 2 p.m., June 24. He was convicted of hazing, obstructing official business and failure to comply with underage alcohol laws.
Canyon Caldwell is next. He will be sentenced just after Krinn, at 3 p.m. June 24. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but later took a deal, changing his plea to guilty on charges of hazing and obstructing justice.
Henricksen won't be sentenced until more than a month later. He is set to appear before a judge at 3 p.m. July 29. He was convicted of eight counts of hazing and seven counts of failure to comply with underage alcohol laws.
Foltz Family Response The parents of Stone Foltz and their attorneys release statements
Foltz's parents, Cory and Shari Foltz, released the following statement:
“While today’s sentencings may be a conclusion for some of the young men convicted in relation to Stone’s death, there will be no closure for our family until hazing is permanently eradicated on college campuses. Universities and Greek organizations must be held accountable for creating and supporting environments that allow hazing to thrive. Stone and countless other students have been tragically injured or killed because people in power refuse to protect them. We fully intend to take steps to require all Ohio universities to actively enforce their policies so that hazing, which is rampant on their campuses, ends for good. There is no other acceptable alternative for Stone or our family.”
- Cory and Shari Foltz, Stone’s parents
Their attorneys, Rex Elliott and Sean Alto issued a statement:
“Though several of the active PIKE members have now been sentenced, there are no winners in this case. These young men now have criminal records that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Their acts were senseless and completely preventable. But these young men were acting within a system created for them by adults. The Big-Little ritual that took Stone’s life went on repeatedly for decades at Bowling Green State University and was absolutely no secret on campus. The plain truth is that Universities and Greek organizations have allowed these problems to fester, leading to countless injuries and deaths on college campuses across the country. We are committed to doing everything we can within our justice system to hold those in power, including the University, accountable for their inaction and woeful failure to end hazing on campus.”