In a preliminary hearing related to a Sept. 25 break-in, three UK fraternity students were brought up on burglary charges in Fayette Court.

Dylan Carrington, Colin Malloy and David Roth were identified by witnesses the night of the incident and criminal complaints were issued by Lexington police.

UK spokesperson Kathy Johnson confirmed that all three individuals are enrolled at the university; Malloy and Roth are juniors and Carrington a senior.

During the preliminary hearing on Feb. 5, the officer on the scene confirmed that the large disorder call was due to a conflict between UK fraternities Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Delta Sigma Phi.

After police arrived on the scene, some SAE members scattered to a second house on Crescent Avenue. The officer said he was unaware of if the defendants were hidden in that residence. Those inside did not open the door for police and officers were only able to identify those inside as white, male individuals.

Carrington, Roth and Malloy filed a waiver for joint representation and were represented by Lexington attorney Fred Peters.

Peters questioned the testifying officer to disprove probable cause for the burglary charge, saying that it should be downgraded to criminal trespassing because Delta Sigma Phi witnesses did not say his clients specifically kicked down the door or harmed property.

“Burglary second, which says they ‘unlawfully entered the house with intent to commit a crime’, and he just said under oath he doesn’t know what crime they committed, or if they committed one,” Peters said during the cross-questioning.

The officer stated that he was unable to get in contact with the defendants after the fact.

Judge Melissa Moore stated that the burglary charge could be conferred by presence and intent.

“The intent can be inferred by the fact that they were not supposed to be there and damage was occurring,” Moore said. She passed the matter to the Fayette County grand jury and recommended that Carrington, Roth and Malloy stay in contact with their attorney.

Peters responded to the Kernel’s request for comment on behalf of his clients, saying there was no evidence that they committed a crime other than being a part of the group.

“I think it should have been committed to a misdemeanor,” he said. According to Peters, there is no date set for the grand jury hearing. Normally they occur within 60 days, but with COVID he was unsure of the timeline.