Authorities have filed a combined total of 112 charges as a result of an off-campus frat party near American University in January that ended with at least two people requiring medical attention.
Jamieson Tymann, 21, and Tyler Steinhardt, 22, are both scheduled to appear in Montgomery County District Court later this month to answer to charges brought after police broke up a rager at the Pi Kappa Alpha house in Bethesda, Md. on Jan. 15.
When police arrived at the Walhonding Road home, an intoxicated 18-year-old girl was being hauled away to be treated for alcohol poisoning at a local hospital, WUSA9 reported on Thursday.
Inside authorities found 200 partygoers on the first floor of the home and several dozen more gathered in the garage, the network reported. As the cops attempted to clear the house, attendees reportedly began hiding in closets and bedrooms, and even attempted to barricade the front door to keep more officers from entering while some guests tried to exit through a second story window, according to WJLA, a local ABC News affiliate.
There was an “overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverage,” reads an excerpt from the official police report, and sources told both networks that booze had started dripping through the floor boards from one story to another.
Investigators estimated that the temperature inside the packed house had reached roughly 100 degrees, and a portable breath test used by one of the officers registered the alcohol content of the ambient air at .09, exceeding the .08 legal driving limit in Maryland and most states.
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Thirty police officers from six Montgomery County police districts were needed to break up the party, and one of the cops reportedly required stitches when police say Mr. Tymann became irate and attacked an officer. He’s been charged with second degree assault and resisting arrest, and is scheduled to go before a judge on Thursday. Initial news reports identified Mr. Tymann as the president of Pi Kappa Alpha, but a spokesperson for the frat has since told WJLA that he is only a member.
Police say Mr. Steinhardt leases the home and admitted to authorities that he hosted the party, WJLA reported. He’s been charged with 110 separate counts of providing alcohol to a minor, each one a civil offense carrying up to $2,500 in fines apiece. He’ll be back in court on March 22. A LinkedIn profile for Mr. Steinhardt links him to Pi Kappa Alpha, but suggests he graduated from AU in 2015.
American University said in a statement that all of the students who were cited have had their cases referred to Student Conduct and could face disciplinary action. Any determinations affecting specific students are kept private, the school said, but any sanctions imposed against Pi Kappa Alpha will be made public if they affect the frat’s status.
“AU has met with each of the students cited. We try to adjudicate cases as quickly as possible and these cases are nearing conclusion,” the school said.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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