Three SUNY-Geneseo Students Charged in Drinking Death

Three SUNY-Geneseo students have been charged with criminally negligent homicide in the alcohol poisoning death of a sophomore who was pledging an off-campus fraternity, the Associated Press reports.

Arman Partamian, 19, was found lying face-down on a mattress March 1 in an off-campus house run by the Orange Knights, otherwise knows as Pigs. The group was banned from campus in 1996 after two students were hospitalized for overdrinking.

Partamian's toxicology results showed a 0.55 blood-alcohol level, almost seven times the legal limit for driving in New York and an amount typically considered lethal. He died in the midst of a three-day initiation.

The three students have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included hazing and unlawfully dealing with a minor. The most severe charge carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.