Ex-Cal Poly fraternity president appears in court on drug charges

A former chapter president of a Cal Poly fraternity briefly appeared in court Thursday, charged with two drug-related felonies.

Gear Thomas McMillan, 22, appeared in San Luis Obispo Superior Court for his arraignment, which was continued to Oct. 21. McMillan, dressed in a suit, did not enter a plea to charges of possession of marijuana for sale and possession for sale of a controlled substance.

Afterward, his attorney, Robert McMahon, of Laguna Beach, said he and his client would reserve comment at this time.

McMillan’s fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi, was the target of an armed robbery attempt last month, investigators say. Five Cal Poly football players — Kristaan Ivory, Cameron Akins, Cortland Fort, Dominique Love and Jake Brito — have been charged with that crime.

After the football players were arrested, McMillan, a former chapter president of the fraternity, disputed the implication that drugs might have been a motive behind the robbery attempt.

"It's a shame because we were the ones who were held up at gunpoint; we were the ones in danger, " said McMillan, a student in the food science and nutrition department. "And the idea that this was somehow about drugs is shedding a negative light on us in the community."

The football players will return to court Oct. 1.

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Ex-Cal Poly fraternity president appears in court on drug charges."