East Texan Sentenced in College Station Fraternity Death

COLLEGE STATION — There’s been a court appearance for the first of six former members of a College Station fraternity who were arrested three years ago on felony drug charges, after the accidental overdose death of an 11th member, Anton Gridnev. 23-year-old Samuel Patterson of Nacogdoches, who admitted to possessing small amounts of LSD and ecstasy, was placed on five years probation. Conditions include a 90-day sentence in a state jail. That generated an appeal from Patterson’s lawyer. Patterson was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and write a letter of apology to Gridnev’s family for what he did and did not do. The letter, which must be approved first by the judge, won’t be written until a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Gridnev’s family is over.