Fraternity slapped with list of violations

A late-night police raid last week on St. Anthony Hall, a literature and arts fraternity, netted 18 arrests and 27 drug and alcohol charges in connection with the operation of an illegal bar.

N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement officials raided the house, located at 207 Pittsboro St., after they were tipped off about the bar.

ALE Agent Mike Penland said the agency began a surveillance of the house after receiving an anonymous tip that fraternity members were selling alcohol without a valid permit.

Surveillance lasted approximately two weeks, during which officers observed irregularly high levels of traffic entering and exiting the premise on particular days of the week to purchase and consume alcohol, Penland said.

ALE responded by sending a few undercover agents into the fraternity to attempt to purchase alcohol.

"While inside the house the agents observed an illegal operation of a bar, numerous people in possession of marijuana and underage drinking," Penland said.

"Surveillance and the agents' observations provided sufficient evidence to obtain a warrant."

The raid was carried out by seven ALE agents and two Chapel Hill police officers who were called in for assistance. Authorities found more than 40 liters of alcohol and about 35 grams of marijuana.

Efforts to contact several fraternity members, including the group's president, were unsuccessful Thursday.

Formal charges included seven counts of underage drinking, one count of aiding and abetting underage drinking and two counts of selling alcohol without proper permits. Misdemeanor drug charges consisted of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The students now will face a review by the office of student affairs - a standard procedure for Greek students cited for alcohol violations.

"That process will kick in as we get all the information from the ALE," said Jay Anhorn, director of Greek Affairs.

Anhorn said that during his five years at the UNC, he has never seen a raid like this by ALE officials.

He said he was notified of the raid earlier this week by ALE through Chapel Hill police.

Greek Affairs typically deals only with University and Chapel Hill police, Anhorn said, and communicates well when doing so.

"We usually find that stuff out immediately," he said, adding that the miscommunication here probably resulted from unfamiliarity with ALE protocol. "I've never had a situation like that happen before."

Penland said the raid does not indicate an ALE crackdown on the UNC campus. "This was a result of a tip we received about one fraternity and is not a sign that we are targeting fraternities."

But targeting underage drinking does remain a priority, he said.

"If that means it lives on college campuses, that means it lives on college campuses."

 

University Editor Brian Hudson contributed to this article.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.