One UCLA student charged, two released after stabbing

Nineteen-year-old Isaiah Cho was charged on Monday with counts of gang enhancement and being an accessory to attempted murder in connection to a stabbing at a fraternity party on Sept. 22.

Cho, a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student at UCLA, is the fifth person to have been charged for taking part in the stabbing.

Four men who are not affiliated with UCLA are charged with counts of attempted murder, mayhem and gang enhancement. All four have pled not guilty, university police Capt. John Adams said.

Two UCLA students who were arrested along with Cho last week were released on Monday pending further investigation, Adams said.

According to police, the stabbing occurred at 621 Midvale Ave. in the midst of a fight that had broken out between two groups. A man pulled out a knife and stabbed two students, while a third student was hit over the head with a bottle.

The student who was stabbed in the abdomen agreed to speak to the Daily Bruin on condition of anonymity. He is a member of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity, which hosted the party.

“I don’t know why this all happened, but I didn’t fight anybody,” he said. “I turned around and saw people fighting, and my instinct was to stop the fight.”

He said he was in the middle of the scene holding out his arms to push the groups apart when he was stabbed.

“I never saw it coming. Just ““ out of nowhere ““ I got hit. I sat down and asked for an ambulance.”

After undergoing emergency surgery, he was released from a hospital after a week. He still limps, and doctors said his recovery will take about six weeks.

“I was in the hospital asking “˜Why me?’ I’m supposed to be here going to school, having a good time. And instead I almost died,” he said.

Kalvin Tsui, the president of Lambda Phi Epsilon, said the fight was not the fault of his fraternity.

Tsui said he had been notified by police to break up the party after a noise complaint. While people were dispersing, the suspects took offense, refused to leave and began fighting.

“The guys (who were arrested) were uninvited guests,” Tsui said. “I don’t know who they are.”

According to Adams, the suspects fled after the fight. Police collected evidence and eventually arrested four men near residence halls.

They were found with Cho and two other students, who were arrested the following week on suspicion of attempted murder and have since been released from custody.

Adams said the seven people who were arrested were connected through friendship or acquaintance.

He said further details of the case are still under investigation.

Cho was at the party when the stabbing occurred, but police have not confirmed he took part in the fight, Adams said.

In addition, police have not released details on the intoxication levels of the suspects at the time of the fight, although Adams said none of suspects were overly intoxicated at the time of arrest. Witnesses have testified that alcohol was served at the party, he said.

Charges of gang enhancement were recently filed against all five suspects who are in custody due to evidence that ties them to gang involvement, Adams said. Evidence does not, however, suggest the stabbing was gang-related, he added.

Bob Naples, an associate vice chancellor and dean of students, said he is prepared to take all necessary actions against those who were involved in the fight, in order to protect students.

“We have an obligation to make this a safe place, and we’re going to continue to do that,” Naples said.

“If there were dangerous people who were at a party, that disturbs me. If we’ve got an organization that took actions that brought harm to individuals, it is my desire that they be sanctioned,” he said.

Naples said the university will conduct an investigation separate from university police and will not act based on what the criminal system decides.

Although he could not speak about specific actions taken against Cho due to privacy laws, Naples said the dean’s office has a number of responsibilities in a case where a dangerous individual may be present on campus.

“If we look at the situation and determine that an individual’s presence on campus could cause damage to students, we can deny them access to campus almost immediately,” he said.

In the longer term, the university will consider whether a student has violated any codes of conduct. For a case where a student is being charged with a serious crime, potential sanctions include suspension and dismissal, Naples said.

The university is also looking into whether Lambda Phi Epsilon violated policies concerning campus groups, such as serving alcohol at a rush event.

Naples warned that the university will examine evidence in detail before making any decisions.

“There’s still a lot that I think is unknown, and we don’t know to what extent the randomness of this occurrence was,” he said.

“But we are going to make sure the actions we take support the safety of our students.”