PHILADELPHIA – A status hearing Dec. 17 set the preliminary hearing date for five University of Pennsylvania students charged with assaulting a Princeton debater.
The preliminary hearing, which will determine whether the evidence against the students warrants a trial, will be held at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia on Feb. 21.
Four of the suspects – David Hochfelder, 19; Philip Balderston, 19; Tavraj Banga, 19; and Steven Stolk, 20 – appeared before Judge Marsha Neifield and signed subpoenas for the Feb. 21 hearing. The fifth suspect, Thomas Bispham Jr., 20, was taking an exam at Penn and did not appear in court.
They allegedly kicked and poured motor oil on John Brantl '05, threatening to light him on fire and making him promise never to return to Penn. Brantl was attending a debate tournament Nov. 16 when the incident occurred.
The students are charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person's life, terroristic threats and conspiracy to commit a crime. Aggravated assault, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years, and criminal conspiracy are felonies in Pennsylvania.
Each student, with the exception of Stolk, had his own defense attorney at the status hearing. Jeffrey Kolarsky, representing Bispham; Frank DeSimone, representing Banga; Carmen Nasute, representing Hochfelder; and Felipe Restrepo, representing Balderston; agreed to the Feb. 21 court date. Jules Epstein, Stolk's lawyer, did not attend the status hearing.
Pennsylvania Legal Code dictates that a preliminary hearing in a case such as this that begins as a Common Pleas Court case must commence within 120 days of the preliminary arraignment. The district attorney filed an oral motion to extend the 120-day rule.
Judge Neifield said Feb. 21 is the earliest preliminary hearing date consistent with the court calendar.
The students were arrested in November and released on $10,000 bail each.
The criminal investigation ended with the arrests, said Bill Danks, deputy chief of investigations for Penn Police.
"We're all just sitting here waiting for the hearing," Danks said.
Penn's Office of Student Conduct is "still deep in their investigation," which is independent of the criminal proceedings, Danks said. Student conduct office representatives declined to comment on the investigation.
The five accused students are said to have connections to the secretive Owl Society. An underground alternative to Greek life, the society was established in 1990 by former Psi Upsilon fraternity brothers. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that Bispham, Banga, and Stolk are Owl members, while Hochfelder and Balderston are prospective Owls.
Danks said the Owls are "not really secret," as their house on Pine Street is well-known. Editor's Note: This breaking story was appended to the December 13th issue of The Daily Princetonian's online edition at 1:40 AM on December 21st. It was modified at 9:20 PM on December 21st.
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