Sixth defendant sentenced in BGSU hazing death
BOWLING GREEN — The sixth of eight defendants convicted in connection with a Bowling Green State University student’s hazing death last year was sentenced by a Wood County judge on Friday to serve a week in jail.
In addition to jail time, Canyon Caldwell, 22, of Dublin, Ohio, was sentenced to 28 days of house arrest and two years of probation by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman after the former fraternity member pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and eight counts of hazing.
The charges stem from the March 2021 death of Stone Foltz, a 20-year-old Pi Kappa Alpha pledge from Delaware, Ohio, who was coerced into drinking an entire liter of liquor at an off-campus fraternity initiation event known as “Big-Little” night.
Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson noted that Caldwell cooperated with his office’s investigation, but pulled out a statement made by the defendant during a pre-sentence investigation.
“He says, ‘The Littles were given a bottle of liquor. They would then take off their
blindfolds and it was just normal drinking after that,’” Dobson said. “It was surprising to me because that’s essentially inconsistent with what this whole trial was about, that it wasn’t just normal drinking after that.”
James Tyack, Caldwell’s defense attorney, asked that the judge not consider the statement during sentencing.
He described Caldwell as remorseful and hard-working, currently working three jobs that mostly involve manual labor. Caldwell is currently enrolled and plans to attend classes in the fall at Columbus State University, the lawyer said.
“He is an absolute workhorse . ... He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t gripe. He just shows up and does the work,” Tyack said.
The defense lawyer then added that his client has always taken seriously the charges against him and did not try to deflect responsibility for his actions. Even when he no longer had to wear an alcohol-monitoring ankle device ordered under his initial bond, Tyack said, Caldwell continued to wear it at his own cost to prove his sincerity.
“I would just like to say to the Foltz family, that I am truly sorry. No parent, no family member, anybody should ever have to go through what they went through,” Caldwell said.
Judge Joel Kuhlman noted that there are number of factors that make Caldwell’s actions less serious than they otherwise might have been — he was never a ‘Big,’ he didn’t plan the Big-Little party, and he had minimal contact with the pledges before and during the event, which he did attend.
“One notable exception to the more favorable points would be that you did purchase some alcohol for the event and obviously that is at the heart of this case. That’s what lead to some of the drastic consequences that you’ve all been dealing with and that the Foltzes have been dealing with,” Judge Kuhlman said.
Foltz’s parents, Shari and Cory Foltz, were not present for Caldwell’s sentencing. On Thursday, they filed a lawsuit against BGSU, alleging the school was negligent in failing to oversee Pi Kappa Alpha or enforce existing anti-hazing laws.
Caldwell will be required to complete his college degree, as well as 100 hours of community service, as a part of his probation’s conditions. Judge Kuhlman noted that 10 hours of credit toward his community service requirement would be offered for every anti-hazing related activity Caldwell participates in.
The conditions largely mirror those offered to five of Caldwell’s co-defendants who each pleaded guilty to various offenses and were sentenced June 16. Those defendants were ordered to serve 28 days’ house arrest, complete their college degrees if they hadn’t already, and perform 100 hours of community service. Some also received brief stints in the Wood County jail.
Two more defendants remain to be sentenced in the case. Jacob Krinn, 21, also of Delaware, and Troy Henricksen, 24, of Grove City, Ohio, took their cases to trial in late May and were each convicted of a handful of charges connected to Foltz’s hazing.
Henricksen and Krinn’s respective sentencing dates of July 8 and July 29 were postponed Wednesday until Aug. 17.