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Students accused of wild parties released from jail

Four Boston University students who are facing charges stemming from two wild parties at a house on Linden Street in Allston have been released on personal recognizance after a hearing in Brighton District Court this morning.

The students learned their lesson and “manned up,” said defense attorney David R. Yannetti, who represented three of them, John Pavia, Sawyer Petric, and Terry Bartrug, all 20 years old.

“My clients have now been in custody for three days at the Nashua Street jail. I would submit that that is likely a longer sentence than they would ultimately face if they were to ultimately resolve these cases. The message that the court was interested in sending is received,” Yannetti told Judge David Donnelly.

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Patrick Sheehan, the attorney representing the fourth student, Michael Oldcorn, 20, said, “Under the circumstances he finds himself in, the message could not be more clear.” He said he believed that all four were moving out of the house.

All four stood shoulder to shoulder this morning in the prisoner’s dock with their hands over their faces.

The two parties happened in September and January. After the first bash, the four alleged hosts were charged with keeping a disorderly house and placed on pretrial probation. They were told that if they stayed out of trouble, all would be forgiven.

But after the second party, Donnelly revoked their bail for violating their probation. They were locked in jail beginning Tuesday night.

“I think they need to have an understanding of what it means to be someone’s neighbor -- and also responsible,” Donnelly said. “Their parents have gone to great lengths, great sacrifice, great expense, for these four young men to go to a world-class university.”

Also today, BU Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore suspended the fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, because the school believes the Jan. 26 party was part of a recruitment effort by the fraternity and that four of the five residents are members of the fraternity.

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Elmore also told BU Today that the school believes underage drinking took place at the Jan. 26 party.

Boston Police Sergeant Michael O’Hara, who responded to the January party and said that the apartment was in shambles and set up for drinking games, told the Globe Thursday that the jail time was unusual.

“But they’re not being put in jail for being a keeper of a disorderly house,” he said. “They’re being put in jail because of the fact that they violated the probation. . . . That’s a serious offense. That’s an affront to the court.”

O’Hara said it was the first time he has seen partiers jailed.

“These kids kind of left the court and the judge no other angle,” he said.

The house at 85 Linden is next door to the burned-out shell of another house that has been in the news. Twenty-two-year-old Binland Lee died in a fire there in May. Nineteen people lived in that building, despite a city ordinance that at the time barred more than four unrelated undergraduate students from sharing a dwelling.


Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.