Fish kidnappers face trial

[TexasStooge]

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (Court TV) — A college student who was in hot water over a felonious fish fry is apparently off the hook, at least as far as his school is concerned.

The University of California at Santa Cruz dropped disciplinary charges against Casey Loop, 23, accused in a now-infamous fraternity kidnapping and cooking of a koi fish.

But prosecutors are less forgiving of fish filching.

Loop and his alleged co-conspirator Matthew Cox, 24, still face a Feb. 9 jury trial on misdemeanor charges of grand theft and vandalism. It is unclear whether the university dropped its charges against Cox.

The 2-foot, 20-pound koi fish went by the names Midas, Goldie and Big Red. On May 20, the female fish went missing. Koi pond caretaker Cecilia Kerridge noticed the disappearance.

Loop and Cox, member of the Delta Omega Chi fraternity, admitted to snatching and killing the beloved koi, which was donated to the school by a professor in 1995. At the time the fraternity was being filmed for the MTV reality series "Fraternity Life."

It was widely rumored that the fish was barbecued and eaten. Loop and Cox, who had no prior records, reportedly expressed remorse for murdering Midas, who was worth more than $800.

To quell growing outrage on campus and beyond, Loop and Cox reportedly spent $650 on a replacement orange koi that they dumped into the campus pond. But the gesture was not enough to dissuade District Attorney Bob Lee from filing the misdemeanor charges against the fraternity brothers. If convicted, the pair faces up to a year in county jail.

A month after the incident, the university ceased to recognize the Delta Omega Chi fraternity. Loop is currently enrolled at the university, majoring in information systems. Cox, a psychology major, is reportedly not currently enrolled.

MTV did not feature the koi incident in the story of its reality show.

[CaptinCrunch]

Next time try Long John Silvers!!