OU students
pleads guilty to burglary and assault
by
Casey Clapper
Staff Writer
Casey.S.Clapper.1@ohio.edu
A
former Ohio University student pleaded guilty to reduced charges
in Athens County Common Pleas Court last month.
Rick
Amburgey, 23, pleaded guilty on December 17 to one count of
burglary and one count of assault, said C. David Warren, Athens
County prosecuting attorney.
Burglary
is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in
prison, and assault is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable
by six months in prison, Warren said.
The
charges stem from a May 15 incident when Amburgey was arrested
after he entered the Sigma Phi Epsilon house, 24 E. Washington
St., and assaulted a resident.
Amburgey
originally was charged with aggravated trespassing and assault,
to which he pleaded not guilty in Athens County Municipal
Court. His charge was upgraded to aggravated burglary during
a May indictment. Aggravated burglary is a first-degree felony
punishable by three to 10 years in prison, Warren said.
The
charge was reduced after prosecutors reviewed the facts of
the case and consulted with the victim, Warren said.
Members
of Sigma Phi Epsilon are trying to move on, but precautions
are being taken so events like this do not happen again, said
sophomore David Mathes, Sigma Phi Epsilon president.
"The
fraternity in a whole feels that, even though it was an event
none of us wished happened, we're all happy with the outcome,"
he said.
Amburgey,
who was a senior at the time of the incident, did not graduate
from Ohio University last spring, said Judy Piercy, director
of OU Office of Judiciaries.
He
will be sentenced after a pre-sentence investigation, which
takes 60 to 90 days, Warren said. He remains out on bond until
sentencing.
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