Spring Break
Fraternity pays $41,000 in homeless case
Dennis Sanderson was collecting cans in 2006 when shot by a former fraternity member
Rebecca Johnson
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: News
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The Daily Barometer
A homeless man who was shot by an OSU fraternity member in 2006 was awarded over $41,000 in damages Monday.
Dennis Sanderson was collecting cans on Oct. 14, 2006 in an alley behind the Alpha Gamma Rho house at 331 Northwest 26th Street when fraternity member Joshua Grimes, 22, shot him in the leg with a .22-caliber rifle.
Grimes was arrested Nov. 13, 2006 following an investigation and search of the fraternity house in which police found the gun used to shoot Sanderson.
Grimes pleaded guilty during a criminal case in 2007 to third degree assault charges and unlawful use of a firearm.
Grimes, who is now a senior at Western Oregon University, was ordered to serve 150 days in jail and complete 400 hours of community service, which he has already completed. He was also given three years of probation that will be satisfied in April.
Deliberations were held all last week in which Grimes claimed that he had been shooting at a dumpster behind Sanderson in an effort to scare him away, according to attorney Chris Dunfield, who represented Grimes for the criminal case and the civil suit.
Sanderson filed the lawsuit in 2007, seeking monetary compensation in the amount of $382,000 for medical expenses and pain and suffering.
According to the complaint, Sanderson has suffered several discomforts since the incident including pain, anxiety, sleep difficulties and severe emotional distress. He also suffers a "continuing fear of the public."
Other than Grimes, those named in the lawsuit were three entities of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternal organization, both at a local and national level. The complaint stated that the organization was culpable by not taking necessary actions in preventing the shooting.
"The lawsuit is intended not only to compensate Mr. Sanderson for his injuries, but to hold a fraternal organization accountable for promoting a culture of violence, irresponsibility with guns and animosity towards the homeless," part of the complaint read.
The jury did not feel there was sufficient evidence to prove this claim, so the national AGR organization was not held liable for any charges, but Grimes and the local AGR chapter were.
Policies on firearms in fraternities and sororities are handled on a chapter-to-chapter basis, according to Robert Kerr, OSU director of Greek life. In a survey taken after the incident in which 16 Greek organizations responded, it was found that nine houses had no policy set in place, six banned firearms altogether and one house allowed firearms on the premises.
AGR has a policy set by the national organization that fraternity members are allowed to have firearms on the premises but that they must be locked away. According to Henry Heiser, the president of the OSU chapter of AGR, firearms have been banned at the fraternity since the incident.
Rebecca Johnson, senior reporter
737-2231, news@dailybarometer.com
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