Carter Eslick, a former leader of a fraternity at Northern Arizona University, pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony hazing charge related to the death of pledge Colin Daniel Martinez. The incident occurred during an off-campus rush event where Martinez, 18, was made to drink excessively. Eslick, 20, entered the plea in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff. As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, he faces a maximum of four years of probation, with a judge set to determine the length and the possibility of up to one year in jail during a sentencing hearing scheduled for September 30.
Martinez was found unresponsive on January 31, and an autopsy revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.425%, which is considered life-threatening. Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker stated that the plea does not lessen the impact of Martinez's death. At the time of the incident, Eslick was the fraternity’s pledge master and is no longer a student at NAU. Court documents indicate that Martinez and three other pledges consumed two bottles of vodka, and witnesses attempted to monitor his condition throughout the night. Following the incident, the university suspended the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and the national organization closed the NAU chapter.