KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Three UT students arrested for vandalism that flooded a UT residence hall have agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
John Robert Reed, 19, Aaron Edward Griesmer, 18, and Thomas Harvey Bellet, 18 were charged with felony vandalism in December. The three were suitemates on the 7th flood of Clement Hall and admitted to punching ceiling tiles in the hallway outside their rooms.
At one point, a pipe was damaged that gushed 100 gallons of water a minute for about twenty minutes, flooding the 7th floor and those below it. The dorm had to be evacuated and some students were temporarily displaced and had personal property destroyed. UT estimated the damage to be at least $2 million dollars.
In court on Wednesday, the three agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor vandalism in exchange for judicial diversion. That essentially means that if they keep their record clean for the next 11 months and 29 days, this charge would be cleared from their permanent record.
They were each ordered to pay $2,419.78 in restitution and do 56 hours of community service.