Friend of UGA student who died of overdose charged

<p>A student who partied with the University of Georgia freshman who died of an alcohol and drug overdose has been charged with felony heroin possession, authorities said.</p><p>District Attorney Ken Mauldin filed the accusation Friday in Clarke County Superior Court against Thomas Stuart Carpenter, 19, of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.</p><p>Carpenter was visiting with Lewis Fish on Jan. 22, the same night that the UGA freshman died in his dorm room from an overdose of alcohol, cocaine and heroin.</p><p>Carpenter is also scheduled to appear Monday in Baldwin County Superior Court in Milledgeville on another heroin possession charge that stemmed from a December incident in that county, according to court records.</p><p>Meanwhile, an Aug. 21 trial date has been set for UGA student Michael Ian Crocker, who lived at a house that UGA police searched in February in an investigation prompted by Fish's death. Crocker, 20, pleaded not guilty in May to two misdemeanor counts of underage possession of alcohol and keeping a disorderly house.</p><p>UGA student Grayson Gordon, 19, who was charged with possession of a fake ID, is expected to receive a trial date Thursday. But Gordon may instead receive pretrial diversionary probation, said Athens-Clarke Solicitor General Mo Wiltshire.</p><p>Fish's death prompted UGA to include moderation as part of its orientation for new students this year. After Fish's death, UGA police began sending students on alcohol and drug violations to the Clarke County Jail instead of simply giving them a citation.</p><p>Last spring, UGA administrators approved new penalties for students who violate the university's drug and alcohol policies. Students who receive more than one violation in a year are suspended for a semester and parents are notified when an underage student is violates drug and alcohol policies.</p><p>In May, Mark Olsen, 19, and Jordan Redella, 20 _ UGA students who were partying with Fish the night he died _ entered into a pretrial agreement in which they would serve six months of probation that included 30 hours of community service and an alcohol education program at the university. The two students' underage drinking charges will be dropped when they meet all the agreement's conditions.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9e64)</p>