Two former fraternity brothers Friday were sentenced to community service - but escaped jail - for stealing and eating a jumbo goldfish at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The men were drunk when they snatched Midas, an 18-inch koi fish that lived in a university-owned pond. The men fried the fish and fed it to fraternity pledges last year.
| Fried? Everyone knows you serve koi grilled with soy sauce! |
Casey Loop, 23, and Matthew Cox, 22, last month pleaded no contest of misdemeanor grand theft and vandalism. On Friday, a judge sentenced Loop to 300 hours of community service. Cox, who apologized for the prank immediately after the incident, was sentenced to 200 hours. They also received a combined five years probation. They could have received up to two years in jail. As part of their sentences, each man will have to work 40 hours at a Japanese institute that has a pond filled with koi.
| "And don't you boys get any ideas, y'hear?" |
The incident was filmed for the MTV series ``Fraternity Life,'' but never aired. Prosecutors used subpoenas to obtain out-takes. |