By Johnna Pinholster
VALDOSTA — Police have charged four students in a Nov. 22 incident at a Valdosta State University fraternity house.
Alex Friedl, 22, Justin Curry, 21, Alec Williams, 24, and Keith Lance Helton, 21, were all charged with disorderly conduct following a Sunday brawl at the Sigma Nu house.
All four individuals are university students, said Valdosta Police Cmdr. Brian Childress.
According to the Sigma Nu Web site, Friedl is the president of the fraternity.
Williams, a junior from San Francisco, Calif., and Curry, a junior from Buford, are defensive ends on the VSU Blazer football team.
Helton, a junior from Wrightsville, is an offensive guard for the team.
“This is still an ongoing investigation. We will not rule out additional charges against these individuals or any other person if we determine, based on this investigation, that they were involved in the fight at the fraternity house on Nov. 22,” he said.
Though the four charged with disorderly conduct were not arrested, it is still a criminal charge, Childress said.
Based on the investigation being conducted by the Valdosta Police Department, these four individuals were the primary ones involved in the altercation that occurred, he added.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, in the 100 block of East Brookwood Drive, several individuals drove up to the Sigma Nu fraternity house, got out of their vehicles, and assaulted the residents there.
Some of the victims were females, Childress said.
None of the injuries were reportedly serious or life threatening, he said.
The Thanksgiving holiday delayed the progress of the case as a majority of the victims were VSU students and left town for the holiday, he said.
“This type of conduct we are not going to tolerate,” Childress said. “I hope this sends a message to everybody. If you have a problem or you’ve been assaulted, you need to call the police, not take the action into your own hands.”
This incident could have been avoided if someone had called the police, Childress said.
VSU officials remain active in the investigation as well. However, it is not known whether or not they plan to reprimand the students.
“We are continuing to work in conjunction with the Valdosta Police Department and cooperating fully with them in a parallel investigation,” said Thressea Boyd, assistant to the president for communications. “The Dean of Students Office continues to interview numerous members of the Sigma Nu fraternity and members of the VSU football team to gather facts and information to establish responsibility.”
