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Monday
January 11, 1999
'M' football players involved in fight, theft
By Jewel Oopwanl
and Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporters
Three Michigan football players who
anded a Sigma Chi fraternity gather-
early Friday morning attempted to
steal electronic devices and threw a
television out a window before inciting
a fight, Sigma Chi members say.
Michigan football players Jason
Brooks, Ray Jackson and William
Peterson were involved in the altercation,
three Sigma Chi members who asked to
remain anonymous said Sunday.
The events began at 1:30 a.m. when
ka Chi members heard a loud crash.
Kernity members claim this came
from Brooks throwing a television set
out a third-story window, and an Ann
Arbor Police Department sergeant con-
firmed fraternity reports that a televi-
sion set was thrown from an upper-
story window.
The members said Brooks, an offen-
sive tackle, was found at approximately
2:15 a.m. attempting to steal a laptop
computer, claiming he was checking his
e-mail.
After being discovered and asked to
leave, Brooks left the premises and
returned to the house 10 minutes later,
the fraternity members said. When
asked to leave a second time, a Sony
PlayStation and a portable phone
dropped from his coat into the snow, the
members said. Fraternity members
called 911 to report the incident and
AAPD was dispatched at 2:23 a.m., the
AAPD sergeant said.
Brooks returned shortly, slapped a
Sigma Chi member and pulled anoth-
er member over the fence, inciting a
fight, the fraternity members said.
Jackson, a fullback; Peterson, a cor-
nerback; and several fraternity mem-
bers joined the fight, the three frater-
nity members said.
Fraternity members were on their
own property, while Brooks was on the
sidewalk on the other side of the fence.
After a lull in the confrontation,
Jackson knocked a fraternity member
unconscious, giving him fractures to his
cheekbone and nose, a first fraternity
representative said.
"I seriously thought he was dead," the
representative said.
According to police reports obtained
by The Ann Arbor News that describe
the fight, one suspect told police on the
scene that several Sigma Chi fraternity
members began to attack him and his
friend outside the house. The suspect
apparently began to fight back to pro-
tect himself and his friend.
Brooks, Jackson and Peterson could
not be reached for comment.
The AAPD sergeant said six people
were injured in the fight, but it is not
known exactly how many people were
involved in the altercation.
Brooks, Jackson and Peterson fled
the scene after hearing police sirens, the
Sigma Chi members said.
"It was a totally unprovoked attack,"
said the first Sigma Chi representative.
Brooks fled the scene and was seen
running north on South State Street,
they said.
An LSA first-year student, who did
not want to be identified, was walking
to a friend's room at Martha Cook
Residence Hall when she saw the fight.
"There was so much blood," she said
See FIGHT, Page 7A
Seen and heard:
1:30 a.m.: Members hear loud crash
outside Sigma Chi fraternity house
at 548 S. State St.
2:15 a.m.: Fraternity members
allegedly see Jason Brooks
attempting to steal a laptop
computer. Brooks is later found with
a Sony PlayStation and portable
phone.
2:23 a.m.: AAPD dispatched to the
scene.
2:25 a.m.: Football players and
fraternity members engage in fight.
CLINTON ROLLS INTO DETROIT
Speech
0r
avoids
current
troubles
By Kelly O'Connor
and Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporters
While lawmakers struck a deal in
Washington that paves the way for a
full impeachment trial in the
Senate, President Clinton strode
into the Cobo Center in Detroit on
Friday to address the Economic
Club of Detroit.
Clinton, who came to Detroit at
the urging of Mayor Dennis Archer,
did not mention his current troubles
during the 40-minute address that
centered on the economic success
his administration fostered. Clinton
appeared in good spirits, cracking
jokes throughout the address and
enjoying a visit to the North
American International Auto Show
*before joining the luncheon.
After the speech, Clinton shook
hands with members of the club,
many of whom urged him to "stay
our president" and "not to stop
fighting."
"As long as you guys stay with
me, I'll be fine," Clinton told one
well-wisher.
In accordance with the traditions
of the club, Clinton answered ques-
tions submitted by the audience at
the conclusion of the speech.
Ranging from his stance on the Euro
to the proposed increase in defense
spending, the questions tested many
of the President's beliefs.
The most developed of the
answers was to a question posed not
by a club member, but by a 12-year-
old guest. In assessing who "the
most interesting person he had met
while president," Clinton moved the
audience-with his description of the
relationship he has formed with
South African President Nelson
Mandela.
Michigan Attorney General
See CUNTON, Page 7A
A2 police
search Phi
Delt house
Alcohol purchase on tape
By Nick Bunkley
Daily Staff Reporter
The case against Phi Delta Theta
fraternity members accused of serv-
ing alcohol to minors at an Oct. 15
party grew more ominous last week,
when police retrieved paperwork and
videotapes indicating purchase of
nearly $350 worth of alcohol earlier
that day.
Police raided the fraternity's for-
mer house, located at 1437
Washtenaw Ave., Friday at approxi-
mately 8 a.m., an Ann Arbor Police
Department sergeant who asked not
to be identified by name said yester-
day.
"They were looking for a paper
trail," he said, "trying to find who was
in charge ... and where the money
came from. It wasn't for bodies, it was
more for evidence."
He said the raid Friday was a search
"for canceled checks and paperwork
showing it was a planned event where
people under 21 would be at the party."
Police seized numerous copies of false
identification and computer equip-
ment likely used to create IDs.
"They retrieved items of evidentiary
value. A lot of people had fake I Ds -
there were people with multiple (false)
identifications."
The raid was the latest twist in the
investigation into the death of LSA
first-year student Courtney Cantor, a
Chi Omega sorority pledge who was
seen drinking at that party. She died
after falling from her sixth-floor Mary
Markley Residence Hall window early
the next morning.
The national Phi Delta Theta organi-
zation revoked the campus chapter's
charter following an investigation that
determined fraternity funds were used
to purchase alcohol. The house had
been ordered to adopt an alcohol-free
policy in 1995.
Possession of false identification is
a misdemeanor, the police sergeant
said, carrying a maximum 90-day jail
term.
If investigators determine that
alcohol played a role in Cantor's
death, fraternity members who
served her, a minor, could face up to
a 10-year prison term and $5,000
fine.
Police named 13 fraternity mem-
bers in criminal warrant requests on
charges of violating host laws, George
Cantor, Courtney's father, said
Saturday. Prosecutors should decide
See PHI DELT, Page 2A
Senators show
partisan division
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - While celebrating their unanimous
agreement on impeachment trial rules, the senators now sitting
in judgment of President Clinton made clear yesterday that they
still divide along the same partisan lines as their House col-
leagues when viewing the basic elements of the case.
For all of the talk of bipartisanship, Republicans and
Democrats remain split not only on key issues such as
whether to call witnesses or to consider censure but also on
the more fundamental questions about whether the allega-
tions against Clinton are serious enough to remove a presi-
dent from office for the first time in Itistory.
The disagreements that became clear on the television
interview shows yesterday forecast serious trouble ahead for
the presidential jurors as they attempt to maintain the sort of
civility that brought them together for a 100-to-0 approval of
procedures Friday. To achieve that accord, the senators post-
poned the decision on whether to hear live testimony on the
See SENATORS, Page 7A
Above: Clinton
speaks at the
Economic Club
of Detroit
meeting at
Cobo Center on
Friday.
Left: Clinton
signs an
autograph for a
fan. The
president
visited North
American
International
Auto Show after
giving his
speech.
ADRIANA
YUGOVICH/Daiy
Experts warn to
check CO levels
Snow and ice give drivers a wild ride
By Nick Faizone
Daily Staff Reporter
Many University students came
back from the semester break with
memories of happy holidays, but
some also shared stories about the
terrible driving conditions they
encountered battling the roads after
the Jan. 2 blizzard.
Nancy Cain of AAA Michigan
said more than 30,000 Michigan dri-
vers have had their cars towed since
heavy snowfall began eight days
ago.
Many University students with cars
on campus have faced similar prob-
lems.
said she would probably feel the same
way about the roads' conditions if she
was able to use her car.
"My car is plowed in right now.
It's stuck in a parking lot," Ricker
said. "Since I don't have a shovel, I
won't be able to get it out for seven
to 10 days."
Although automotive dilemmas such
as Ricker's are lamentable, there are
many measures students can take to
ensure they and their cars survive in the
winter weather.
Phil Thack, service manager of
Ann Arbor Auto Service, said the
most important thing a driver can do
is be prepared for a disaster on the
By Marta Drill
Daily Staff Reporter
It goes without saying that every
safe American home is equipped
with a smoke detector, but a device
with equal life-saving potential is
often overlooked - a carbon
monoxide detector.
While asleep in his Ann Arbor apart-
ment Thursday, Brian Fishman, former
sports information director for the
Michigan Hockey Program, died from
exposure to this lethal gas.
"The most common source of the
problem is the furnace, like a cracked
heat exchanger," said Jeff Perkins, CEO
of the Perkins Construction Company.
The carbon monoxide generated in
heating up the air in a furnace is gener-
ally contained in a separate compart-
ment. If the heat exchanger is cracked,
the 'gas can seep through the crack into
the house.
Ann Arbor Police Department
officials have not determined if this
was the case with Fishman's fur-
SARA SCHENCK/Daily
Carbon monoxide detectors cost
between $25$40.
as the more well-known example of
leaving a car running with the
garacrP doo~r closed.
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