By Mike Naughton and Rachel Slajda

In fewer than four weeks, Boston Police have responded to two complaints which have resulted in at least three Northeastern students being summonsed to court.

The summonses stem from incidents involving students and underage drinking since Dec. 24.

Ben Couto, a 21-year-old marketing major, was summonsed to West Roxbury District Court and may face a charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor after police were called to Couto’s Mission Hill residence Dec. 24. A friend, 20-year-old Jacob Garro, was killed after he fell off a third-floor balcony at Couto’s residence.

If charged and convicted, Couto could be sentenced to up to one year in prison and fined up to $2,000, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

“He’s doing pretty well. It’s been tough and I’m sure he’s thinking about it all day,” said Couto’s friend Caity O’Brien. “It was a really horrible thing that happened.”

Two other underage Northeastern students were also summonsed to West Roxbury District Court recently, charged with keeping a disorderly house after Boston Police responded to complaints of college students drinking in the Mission Hill area on Jan. 9.

Officers discovered a group of 40 to 60 students at 11 Carmel St., according to the police report. The report listed a keg and a beer tap were confiscated from the residence.

The two students, who were not seen drinking, were discovered to be the tenants of the apartment. Wark said because two underage males and two underage females were discovered at the scene, the two students could face charges of furnishing alcohol to minors.

The incidents came as police officials introduced their new plan, Operation Student Shield, on Jan. 6. The plan, according to police officials, aims to crack down on rowdy student behavior in the city.

The plan calls for Boston area universities to partner up with Boston Police to more effectively sanction students who violate university and city regulations.

The two students involved in the Jan. 9 incident have a pretrial hearing on Feb. 17, Wark said.

O’Brien, Couto’s friend, said Couto has a hearing with the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution on Jan. 27 — the same day he is scheduled to appear in West Roxbury District Court for a pretrial hearing.

– Staff writers Amanda Carswell and Chris Brook contributed to this report.