Plea agreement allows MU hazing defendant to avoid trial, but will spend 15 days in jail

Another University of Missouri fraternity hazing defendant on Monday entered a plea to a misdemeanor charge under a plea agreement.

Samuel Gandhi of St. Louis, wearing a suit in court, was handcuffed to begin 15 days in jail that was part of the agreement.

A trial date has been set later this month for another defendant, Benjamin Parres.

Both are charged with the Oct. 19, 2021, hazing incident that left freshman Phi Gamma Delta fraternity pledge Danny Santulli incapacitated. Santulli collapsed after consuming large amounts of alcohol and was resuscitated at MU Hospital.

The brain damage from the alcohol poisoning left Santulli unable to speak, walk or see. He's under constant care at his home in Minnesota, paid for by settlements of civil lawsuits by the fraternity and members.

Gandhi and Parres are two of 11 charged.

Gandhi originally was charged with felony hazing, but under the plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor supplying alcohol to a minor.

Besides the 15 days jail time, his sentence included two years of unsupervised probation, 100 hours of community service, attendance in drug and alcohol training. Judge Hasbrouck Jacobs handed down the sentence after determining that Gandhi was making the decision on his own.

Like other defendants with plea agreements, he must participate in restorative justice mediation if the family requests it. He would be required to face Santulli's family and potentially Santulli to admit his wrongdoing, while hearing from the family how he has harmed Santulli and them. The process is seen as a way to restore wrongdoers to society.

Gandhi regrets his actions, said his attorney, William Hamilton, after the hearing.

"He wanted to call the family" after the incident, Hamilton said. "They were brothers."

He told Gandhi not to call them, he said.

It's such a sad situation, Hamilton said.

"In this case, it was beyond words," he said.

A police statement notes Gandhi allegedly posted a photo of Santulli lying face down on a couch, his head hanging of the edge, on the social media platform Snapchat, with his message: "That was 11:49 p.m."

The probable cause statement for Gandhi indicates "excessive amounts of alcohol consumption" seen on security footage, with several underage pledges vomiting. The footage shows Gandhi allegedly moving alcohol to the courtyard before the event.

Though not in the plea agreement, Gandhi could be called as a witness in the trials of other defendants, Hamilton said.

A one-day jury trial is scheduled July 26, or Parres, of Chesterfield.

A pre-trial hearing is set for July 10.

Thomas Shultz and Harrison Reichman entered plea agreements with sentences similar to Gandhi's, though Shultz had a 30-day jail sentence.

Alec Wetzler has entered a plea agreement, with his sentencing scheduled Aug. 3.

Other trials have been scheduled for Samuel Morrison on Sept. 26; Samuel Lane, Dec. 19; Ryan Delanty, Dec. 5; and John O' Neill, Jan. 22, 2024. Delanty's trial is scheduled for five days, with Morrison, Lane and O'Neill scheduled for one day.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Attorney: Hazing defendant Samuel Gandhi wanted to reach out to family