Four San Diego State University students were charged with felonies on Monday, Jan. 6, for allegedly starting a fire at a fraternity party almost a year prior that resulted in one person with 16% of their body burned.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephen said in a media release that SDSU Caden Cooper, 22; Lucas Cowling, 20; Christopher Serrano, 20; and Lars Larsen, 19 were charged with at least one of three counts of felonies: recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, social host – unlawful minor consumption and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to public.
Prosecutors alleged that on Feb. 17, 2024, Cowling and Serrano set Larsen on fire as part of a skit, and Larsen spent weeks in the hospital for third-degree burns, primarily to his legs.
According to the District Attorney, Larsen, Cooper and Cowling then conspired with others to thwart a law enforcement investigation by deleting evidence on social media and instructing other fraternity members to delete evidence and not speak to anyone about the incident.
All defendants pleaded not guilty. If convicted of all charges, they could “face a sentencing range of probation up to seven years, two months in prison.”
None of the fraternity members could be reached for immediate comment.
In a statement, SDSU officials said they got an anonymous call about a hazing incident involving the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity members. Upon confirmation, the Dean of Students Office immediately placed the fraternity under interim suspension, which is still in effect.
The San Diego Police Department investigated and presented its findings to the District Attorney’s Office.
SDSU further stated that, with the conclusion of the police investigation, it would start a separate administrative investigation into the students’ and organization’s conduct.
The fire allegedly occurred while Phi Kappa Psi was still under probation with stipulations, along with six other fraternities — Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Sigma Pi, Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi. The probations were put in place between November 2023 and January 2024.
This is also not the first time the SDSU fraternities have made headlines. Incidents in 2019 and 2021 involving two unrecognized fraternities, Phi Gamma Delta and Kappa Sigma, ended with one person’s death and one person with a “life-altering” injury.
“The university prioritizes the health and safety of our campus community and has high expectations for how all members of the university community, including students, behave in the interest of individual and community safety and wellbeing,” the university said in its statement.
A court readiness hearing is scheduled on March 18 and the preliminary hearing is on April 16.
