Athens Police have confirmed that no charges will be pressed on the residents of the former Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house, 12 N. College St., after an incident in which marijuana and drug paraphernalia were confiscated more than a month ago.
The case is closed, said Lt. Adam Claar, the case’s approving officer. Information has been forwarded to Ohio University’s Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility, he added, meaning that the organization’s fate now lies in the hands of the university.
Although marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found after a warranted search the night of March 3, police did not file charges because they were unable to prove the substances confiscated belonged to the tenants, Claar said.
Police confiscated 16 pipes, one water pipe, one grinder, two bags of marijuana, and one book from the search, according to the warrant inventory report.
“We can’t just charge something for something we can’t prove,” Claar said. “We confiscated because that’s about all we can do in that situation.”
It is still uncertain whether the fraternity or tenants of 12 N. College St. will face greek-life punishments because the office has yet to receive information on the search, said Chris Blackburn, OU’s associate director of student greek life and leadership.
Greek life’s jurisdiction is similar to that of the Student Code of Conduct: If a student is found in violation, whether on or off campus, greek life will further review the situation if the student is found guilty by the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility.
“If it were decided the gentlemen or organization is guilty, the tenants or fraternity may then be reviewed by greek life and receive additional punishments,” Blackburn said.
Benjamin Standen, Pi Kappa Alpha’s public-relations chair, said the tenants and fraternity do not plan to hear from the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility or greek life.
“As far as I can tell, we are in good standing with the law,” he said. “I don’t see why the university would step in with no charges (from Athens Police) against us.”
The fraternity, commonly referred to as “Pike,” was scheduled to appear in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas Court at 3 p.m. Thursday for an eviction dispute with Prokos Rentals, the owner of the house.
The judge agreed to postpone the case to 1 p.m. Monday, when the residents’ lawyer would be present.
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