CORVALLIS - A jury awarded $41,421.06 in damages to a homeless man who was shot by an Oregon State University fraternity member in 2006. Dennis Sanderson, who since has found lodging, will receive $6,421.06 for his medical expenses and $35,000 for non-economic damages.

The jury found Monday that the Association of Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho of OSU and former fraternity member Joshua Grimes, who shot Sanderson, were the ones responsible for the damages.

On Oct. 14, 2006, Sanderson was in the alley behind the AGR house at 331 N.W. 26th Street, looking for cans in a trash container. Grimes, now 22, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon in 2007 for shooting Sanderson with a .22 caliber rifle.

The jury also decided Monday that Sanderson's injuries were not caused by negligence on the part of the national fraternal organization.

Sanderson's attorney, Mark McDougal, had argued that the national organization was negligent and allowed an environment of "animosity towards the homeless" to be tolerated at the OSU house. Sanderson sought $175,000 in punitive damages from the national organization.

Witnesses testified that AGR members were known to shoot from windows with BB guns, and had talked about shooting homeless people with BB guns. But the organization's attorney, Derek Ashton, said the fraternity followed its policy; had no way of knowing members had or would do anything illegal and took appropriate steps to respond to the shooting.

To find the organization liable, the nine members of the jury needed to agree that the group had failed to enforce its own policy on guns, had allowed a culture of "animosity towards the homeless" or had failed to take corrective action to prevent the shooting.

Police searched the frat house after Sanderson was shot and found more than two dozen firearms. National policy for AGR stipulates that firearms are allowed, as long as they are locked up and under "limited access."

Grimes, who testified that he had been trying to shoot the Dumpster and not Sanderson, was kicked out of the fraternity after his arrest.

The four-day trial took place last week. The jury deliberated for several hours Friday before breaking for the weekend. They returned with their verdict Monday afternoon.