Five members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity were arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly cutting and stealing a tree near Scheumann Stadium.
Zachary Brindley, William Stephens, Taylor Hurst, Kaleb Barajas and Logan Stevens were arrested on preliminary charges of theft, possession of stolen property and criminal mischief after the Muncie city dispatch received complaints of theft near Northside Middle School, according to an arrest report from UPD.
The suspects were driving a maroon truck and had placed the 6-foot tree on the bed of the truck driven by Stephens. Officer Michael Fuller from the Muncie Police Department stopped the vehicle in the Delta Tau Delta parking lot, where the suspects admitted to having stolen the tree. They were taken to the Delaware County Jail, from which they were released on a $5,000 bond, according to the jail.
Gene Burton, director of public safety and UPD chief of police, said this was not the first time students have been arrested for stealing a tree.
"I can't remember the last time it happened," he said. "I know it's been a few years since it's happened, but I can remember in past instances where we've done the same thing."
Burton said the suspects will go through a criminal justice process as well as the university's process.
"They're Ball State students and there's a possible violation of the code of conduct," he said. "Their names have been passed on to the director of [Student Rights and] Community Standards, Dr. [Michael] Gillilan, for his office to review."
Gillilan declined to comment about any of the students.
Both the Office of Student Life and Delta Tau Delta are investigating the arrest as well.
Michael Ely, outgoing president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity said the members involved in the arrest have been indefinitely suspended. He said the members were acting as individuals.
"This is behavior that we do not tolerate within our chapter," he said. "They made poor personal choices to do this."
Ely said the fraternity is working with the university and the police department in the ongoing investigation.
Brandon Cutler, assistant director of Student Life, said he was not sure what would happen to the students.
"That is a legal matter and the legal authorities are taking that into consideration," he said. "We don't actually adjudicate individual students in the Office of Student Life. We deal with the student groups but not the individual students themselves."
Cutler said the university is looking into whether to give the fraternity any sanctions and that he is not sure how long the investigation will take.
"Well, it depends on whether or not there is a violation of the policy," he said. "Of course, in this incident there was a violation the men did personally when they cut down that tree. But it depends on whether or not it was part of a chapter event or not, and we are currently looking into that."
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