Former NAU fraternity officer admits felony hazing in pledge's January death

Plea deal would cap Eslick’s sentence at four years’ probation

A former leader of a Northern Arizona University fraternity pleaded guilty Monday to a felony hazing charge, admitting he made pledge Colin Daniel Martinez drink excessively at an off-campus rush event. Carter Eslick, 20, entered the plea in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff.

Martinez, an 18-year-old aspiring member of the now-defunct Delta Tau Delta chapter at NAU, was found unresponsive Jan. 31 after the gathering. An autopsy recorded his blood-alcohol level at 0.425%, a concentration considered life-threatening.

Under the agreement with prosecutors, Eslick would serve no more than four years of probation. A judge will set the length of the term and could add up to a year in jail.

Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said the plea does not diminish the “profound harm caused or the sorrow of Colin’s death,” leaving Eslick’s sentence to the judge’s decision at the Sept. 30 hearing in Flagstaff.