After allegedly breaking into and vandalizing the Alpha Tau
Omega fraternity house early Friday morning, Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity member Stephen Sanford was arraigned yesterday on felony
charges of malicious destruction of property and breaking and
entering.
- Ryan Nowak
- Forty-seven windows were broken at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house this weekend. The interior and exterior damage is estimated at a total of $10,000. LSA sophomore Stephen Sanford, a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon is facing charges for the crime and w
These charges can carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. A
trial date for Sanford, an LSA sophomore, will be determined within
the next 11 days.
The break-in was apparently intended as a reprisal for another
incident last February, when members of ATO and Sigma Alpha Epsilon
assaulted DKE members and broke outside windows at the DKE
fraternity house.
Ann Arbor Police Department reports indicate Sanford entered the
empty house at about 3 a.m. on Friday after breaking outside
windows with a fire extinguisher.
The DKE member broke 47 windows and caused about $10,000 worth
of damage to the inside and outside of the house, said AAPD Sgt.
Matt Lige.
DKE President Alex Dengel could not be reached for comment, and
Vice President Daniel Kochis refused to comment.
“Police entered the house and observed a 19-year-old man
smashing out windows with a fire extinguisher,” Lige said.
“He put the fire extinguisher down once he realized we were
there.”
Inside the house, Sanford caused damage to doors, a mirror and a
lamp, overturned dressers and used the fire extinguisher to break
holes in a wall, according to AAPD reports. Lige said Sanford was
intoxicated when police arrived at the house.
Lige added that Sanford received cuts on his hands and forearms
from breaking the windows, and was taken to the University hospital
for those injuries.
Sanford declined to comment on the incident.
ATO President Joel Stone said the fraternity has no plans to
file a complaint with the Interfraternity Council — the local
governing body for National Interfraternity Council chapters at the
University.
“At this particular time, I don’t think (IFC
involvement) is necessary at all,” Stone said.
“We’re going to leave it to the legal
system.”
“In my opinion, I think this may have been premeditated on
his account, but I don’t think anyone in DKE or on the board
put him up to this,” he added.
David Sachs, an Ann Arbor resident and member of ATO’s
alumni association, said the ATO board does not hold DKE’s
leadership responsible for the incident.
“I would like to say that this appears to be a very
isolated and individual incident, unlike any typical quarrels from
the past between the two fraternities,” Sachs said in an
e-mail. “I have had a long conversation with Joel Stone, and
we … will not tolerate any retaliation from this incident on
the ATO side.”
Stone said ATO does not intend to pay for the damages and will
seek counsel from an attorney through its alumni association.
“If it’s a civil action that we have to take, then
we’ll go down that road,” Stone said.
“We’re not going to pay for the damages. I think
this kid did this of his own accord, and he’s going to have
to be held responsible for that.”
DKE fraternity brother Nick Reddig knew Sanford and expressed
surprise upon learning of the incident.
“He’s a good guy. I didn’t think he would do
that. But, apparently, he did,” Reddig said