Criminal Charges Filed Against Five Fraternity Members

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke LPA, ilana.linder@fraternallaw.com

Although no evidence of hazing was found surrounding the death of an eighteen-year-old UC Irvine freshman who died after attending his fraternity’s “Big Brother Night,” five members of the fraternity have now been criminally charged in connection with his death.

Noah Domingo was found to have a blood alcohol level of roughly 0.331 when he died on January 12, 2019 at an off-campus house affiliated with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. The coroner determined that Noah’s cause of death was accidental acute ethanol intoxication.

The five individual fraternity members against whom misdemeanor charges have been filed were named on the lease to the off-campus house where Noah passed away. They have all been charged with violating the local municipal code that prohibits a party or gathering where underage drinking is permitted. If convicted, each could be required to serve up to six (6) months in jail.

Additionally, Noah’s “big brother” has been charged with a count of furnishing alcohol to a minor causing great bodily injury. He faces up to eighteen (18) months in jail. Another member has been charged with a separate count of furnishing alcohol to a minor, for which a maximum sentence of six (6) months of jail time could be imposed.