More former WSU fraternity members plead guilty in Sam Martinez case

Several former Washington State University fraternity members on Friday were sentenced to eight months supervised probation after they pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a minor the night a 19-year-old freshman died of alcohol poisoning at an initiation event.

Maxwell Rovegno, Cameron Thomas and Nolan Valcik were separately sentenced to eight months of supervised probation after they pleaded guilty to one count of furnishing liquor to one or more minors, according to sentencing documents from the Whitman County District Court.

Conditions of their probation include an Alcohol and Drug Information School program, which if they complete will let them transfer to unsupervised probation, according to the court documents. The defendants were also told to each pay a $1,000 fine with $500 suspended, according to the court documents.

Valcik had previously been charged with two counts, as well as Wesley Oswald and Jeremy McAteer.

At his court appearance June 30, McAteer pleaded not guilty to the charge. Police suspected Oswald as the one who gave Martinez alcohol the night of an Alpha Tau Omega fraternity chapter event in November 2019. Martinez died early Nov. 12, 2019.

The Whitman County Medical Examiner ruled the student’s death an accident by alcohol poisoning. WSU suspended the fraternity until 2026.

Others charged in the case – 15 members in total – were given continuances until March 2022.

Earlier this year, Martinez’s family released a statement criticizing the charges filed related to Martinez’s death, calling them “insulting” compared to the loss they experienced.

“A boy dies. His family and friends are shattered. Promises of reform are made, and broken. We say enough,” the statement said. “It is time for universities, fraternities and policymakers to enact meaningful reforms that end this toxic culture.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the three defendants named were charged with furnishing liquor to Sam Martinez. The defendants’ charges for furnishing liquor to one or more minors were in relation to the same event, but the only defendant charged directly with furnishing liquor to Martinez is Wesley Oswald. An earlier version of this article also misstated the plea in the headline.