Three St. Johns County Florida teenagers were arrested Saturday for giving a 14-year-old girl so much alcohol that she passed out at an open house party.
This is a parent’s worst nightmare – an open house party where everyone is invited. The open house was south of St. Augustine, and about 60, mostly juveniles were in attendance.
It’s amazing how fast word spreads on the internet and with texting.
The young girl’s parents say they thought she was at home in bed.
The girl drank enough that she passed out and the teen party host tried to revive her with water from a garden hose. When that didn’t work, they put her in a shower, then forced her to eat bread.
Two other partiers decided to do the right thing and drive the 14-year-old to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine. Medical personnel say they got her there just in time.
Arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor are Dustin Brandon Burt and Jonathan Edward Gagnon, both 19. It was apparently their party.
A third youth, Noah Bradley Bryant, 18, of St. Augustine Shores was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He brought the girl to the party.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s officers say they tried to identify the girl by talking to party goers. One of the witnesses sent the officers to the girl’s MySpace page where they got her phone number.
There is no word on and adult supervision, presence, knowledge, or ownership over the home, but you can believe that pursuit is number one in the mind of law enforcement.
All three young men are in the St. Johns County jail and had their first court appearance this morning. They have been charged appropriately and not let off the hook by the sheriff’s office.
Unfortunately, summer is the time for beer blasts.
Last month a party at the Jacksonville beaches ended up with a 15-year old girl passing out and claiming she was gang raped.
In May, a Jacksonville attorney was arrested when police found an open keg of beer and about 50 underage kids in her backyard. She was charged with giving alcoholic beverages to people under the age of 21.
A young couple died last year after being served alcohol. The 20-year old young man had a blood-alcohol of 0.15 and his 18-year-old girlfriend drowned with him when his truck rolled into Julington Creek. The pair had attended two parties that night.
And last month we reported that a party in Ocala ended up with five young men speeding off in a BMW and crashing into a tree. No one survived the crash and the party host, an adult, was arrested.
Under Florida Statutes Ch. 827 on alcohol consumption by minors, if a party goer is under the age of 21 and partakes in any booze, a parent can be facing a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. If someone is killed, those charges could be upped to manslaughter.
Parents can also be held responsible for negligent supervision of children and potentially could face the financial consequences of any accidents or deaths that might occur. That could result in jail time or the seizure and sale of the parents’ non-exempt assets.
Any adult host needs to take “reasonable steps to prevent the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages or drugs” by minors. And you don’t have to be home to be charged. Parents are liable if nothing is done to stop the party.
Jacksonville saw 17 open-house parties last year, up from 13 in 2006.
Often it is neighbors who report the loud and disturbing noise.
We take this very seriously at Farah and Farah and encourage parents to understand the law and its consequences.
A little fun at home could have enormous consequences and ruin you financially, not to mention lead to the death of a young person. #
