Drinking party busted in Mansfield - The Sun Chronicle Online - News

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Drinking party busted in Mansfield

BY MICHAEL GELBWASSER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

Monday, June 22, 2009 2:19 AM EDT

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MANSFIELD - Police continued their crackdown on underage drinking Saturday, taking 13 people into custody - including eight youths - after an early-morning party at an apartment building.

The eight youths, ranging in age from 18 to 20, all were arrested and will be charged with the illegal possession of alcohol, police said Sunday.

The host, Brian Phinney, 21, will be summoned to court on the charge of furnishing liquor to a person under 21.

The party in Phinney's second-floor apartment at 10 Connors Ave., near Oakland Street, was the latest broken up by area police since the death of King Philip Regional High School senior Taylor Meyer last October. Meyer died after attending an underage drinking party at the former Norfolk Airport.

Mansfield police said they responded to 10 Connors Ave. at 12:30 a.m. Saturday after someone reported a loud party there. Police said officers heard loud noise coming from a second-floor apartment when they arrived. Inside, police reported seeing a "large amount of alcohol and many empty bottles and cans of alcohol. They also found many young adults that all showed various levels of intoxication."

Facing summons to court are seven North Attleboro residents: Hannah Nelson, 19, of 89 Elmwood St.; Meaghan Kenney, 19, of 306 Paine Road; Dylan Morlock, 19, of 280 Kelley Boulevard; Amanda Beaupre, 19, of 35 Munroe Drive; David Butters, 18, of 32 Lincoln Road; Katie Cahill, 20, of 74 Johnson St.; and Ranna Sarkis, 19, of 231 Colonial Road; as well as Jessica Melino, 18, of Cranston, R.I.

Police placed Phinney and four North Attleboro residents, all 21 or older, into protective custody. Only Phinney faces charges.

Officers Brian Thibault, Robert Peirce, Anthony Lattanzio and Joshua Ellender and Sgt. Larry Crosman participated in the investigation.

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whatmoug wrote on Jul 10, 2009 7:04 PM:

" as kevin h. so aptly puts it........Yawn !......

more tax money wasted
no harm no foul
how did the uniforms get pssed the front door..........no simple knock knock.."turn down the noise...it's late...this is a warning"........
Enter the Gestapo........Every Civil Liberties violation possible on this one.....has been committed here...... "

johnpg48 wrote on Jul 2, 2009 11:48 PM:

" They can fight in wars to defend our freedom, but they are arrested for drinking. What's wrong with this picture ? "

allaboutthemoney wrote on Jul 2, 2009 1:29 AM:

" When I was 18, that was the legal drinking age. Our parents taught us how to be responsible, and I survived. "

ButchDuctTape wrote on Jun 27, 2009 1:35 PM:

" Can the Scum go on record and say theese losers weren't BFHS students?

Oh wait.. "

kevin goodwin wrote on Jun 23, 2009 1:02 AM:

" Who gives a fig about private parties, on private property?

How many police were pulled off the case of the smash and grabs in downtown to go investigate this? "

jose21 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 11:04 PM:

" Hawk - how many of those are underage? "

hawk1 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 8:34 PM:

" More than 1,700 college students are killed each year-about 4.65 per DAY- as a result of alcohol related injuries.

Thats just one stat. More deaths of students in one year than all of U.S. deaths during 1st Persian gulf war. "

hawk1 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 5:53 PM:

" Not only is early drinking by youths bad them both mentally and physically in their developing bodies but they are much more prone to becoming "raging drunks" as they become adults. Not to mention youths are much more prone to actually die in accidents and making poor decision resulting in death. These are the facts of just a few. "

hawk1 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 5:49 PM:

" Many times kid's parents think their kids can do no wrong. No supervision or checking up on their kids = trip to local pd for pick up. "

ricknkim wrote on Jun 22, 2009 5:04 PM:

" If only there were more of those solid father figures around to leave those impressions . . . unfortunately there are far too many examples of why such an idea does not always work. Hence the unfortunate necessity of laws and law enforcement. "

really?! wrote on Jun 22, 2009 4:56 PM:

" Correction* Leave punishiment to parents, I assure you a nice lesson from dad will be far more impressionable than a trip to court. "

really?! wrote on Jun 22, 2009 4:54 PM:

" What a waste of tax dollars. Instead of donating my taxes to busting 19 and 20 year olds for drinking in a house, maybe north middle schools could see some new books or a couple pot holes could be filled in. To keep it short, use our money for something better, leave the kids alone, try and remember we all drank before that magic number 21. "

ricknkim wrote on Jun 22, 2009 4:46 PM:

" Underage drinking is far from a victimless crime. I suppose prostitution is victimless also? Dig deeper, both are far more complex issues than most want to admit.

Kids will always experiment with drinking, among other things, and that is reality. However, they should know that there are penalties for that illegal experimentation - both from mom/dad as well as from law enforcement. You play, you might pay. Hopefully the pay is your name in the SC and not at the expense of someone else (vehicular homicide, alcohol poisoning/death). "

usafvet wrote on Jun 22, 2009 4:15 PM:

" ishouldbemayor - there were victims of the crime of underage drinking in this case - the people who lived in the adjoining apartments who were trying to enjoy their home, but were unable to because of the excessive noise caused by a bunch of low-life drunks. If you read the article carefully, you'll see that that is why the police were at the apartment to begin with. "

ishouldbemayor wrote on Jun 22, 2009 4:03 PM:

" usafvet - the difference is nothing. an underage person drinking does NO HARM TO ANYONE. It is a victimless crime. Driving drunk at any age is the real crime because there can be victims and it can not be prevented by any law only punished after the fact.

Why people doing things in their own homes are being harassed for victimless crimes because of grant money to police is beyond me. Hopefully they don't get a grant to arrest people for having illegal tax free sales in their yards and garages without a buisness liscence.

mmarcia - what I mean is drinking and driving is a crime. Drinking at any age, is a crime against who? Ask yourself that. "

jose21 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 3:09 PM:

" No problem, I was actually going to go a step further and combine the two. Have them get really drunk and take a driving test, see who can come closest to the egg without breaking it, like Marcia and Greg but after a 12 pack.

And yes, I am kidding. "

cky749 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:45 PM:

" To Realist... why do you need to know the names why does it matter "

skeptic wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:43 PM:

" sorry jose - drinking school was kevin h's idea. "

skeptic wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:42 PM:

" jose21 -- interesting comparison. I think driving, like drinking, is something kids learn from parents. Sure, they go to school and learn the laws on driving but how many times have they seen Mom or Dad force their way through an intersection, speed up at a yellow light or flip off another driver and then Mom and Dad wonder why the kid is an aggressive driver. It's the same with drinking - SADD can have all the skits and accident re-enactments they want but if all a kid sees is that adults can't have fun without being hammered - what kind of drinker will they be? "

jose21 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:24 PM:

" I guess having your name and address in the Chronicle is the deterrent. Keep in mind, it wasn't until recently where community service was even considered. In the past, it was a minimal fine or just a night in the tank. I'm not saying I have all the answeres, but I think jail time is a bit of a stretch. "

kevin h. wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:23 PM:

" Parents should send their children to drinking school just like they send them to driving school. "

Realist wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:09 PM:

" I guess hardharted repeated what I said. ALthough in fewer words. "

Hardhearted wrote on Jun 22, 2009 2:00 PM:

" jose21- What's the deterrent if someone knows the worst that can happen is community service? Hell, some will even have the nerve to put it on college applications as volunteer service.
I say jail time and all loss of taxpayer funded benefits, such as school and scholarship aid. "

Realist wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:57 PM:

" I think the other adults should be identified. "

mmarcia wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:56 PM:

" cky749: The drinking age was 18 when I was a young adult. Yes, I did ONCE get totally hammered, and had a (more-sober) friend drive me home. The law is the law, and it HAS to be enforced. It doesn't matter how often they do it - it's ILLEGAL. And over 18 does mean "tried as an adult".

ishouldbemayor: what do you mean by "Underage drinkers can be arrested before and after and 21 plus "adults" can be arrested only after."? If you commit a crime but don't think what you're doing is a crime, it's still a crime. "

usafvet wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:51 PM:

" ishouldbemayor - I'll tell you what the difference is, it is LEGAL for the 21+ individual to drink, it is ILLEGAL for the person under 21 to drink. It is ILLEGAL for both to drive under the influence. If you disagree with the law, then talk to your state senator and state rep and get it changed. Saying that drinking under age 21 is only a little illegal is like saying that a girl is only a little pregnant. "

jose21 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:16 PM:

" Heardhearted - I'm all for the police busting these parties up, I'm just saying the punishment should be nothing more than some community service at the most. Think about it, if the jails are filled with underage drinkers, where are we going to put all those horrible pot dealers when they get arrested? "

ishouldbemayor wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:06 PM:

" What makes underage drinkers who drive home different from "adults" who go to a restaurant or a family cookout and drink and drive home?

Answer: NOTHING except, Underage drinkers can be arrested before and after and 21 plus "adults" can be arrested only after.

How about educating your kids to drink safely and explaining to them the consequences and responsibilities they must have when they drink? or does being arrested at a party teach you that? "

usafvet wrote on Jun 22, 2009 1:00 PM:

" cky749 and others - it doesn't matter what we did when we were kids, it doesn't make what we did right, and it certainly doesn't make what these young people did any less wrong. Fortunately, we will never know how many lives were saved by the police stopping the party and arresting people. Did it occur to you that had the police not taken one of these young people into custody, that they may have gone out, got behind the wheel, and killed themselves or someone else, perhaps someone you know and love? Drinking under the age of 21 and giving alcohol to somone under the age of 21, like OUI or even speeding, is against the law. It doesn't matter how many other people do it and don't get caught, if you do it and get caught, you face the music. Its the, "well we all did it" or "there is no way to stop kids from drinking" attitude that is killing our kids. If we want to stop bad behavior, we have to consistently enforce the laws. "

hardhearted wrote on Jun 22, 2009 12:49 PM:

" cky749 -- Those of us now well over 21 who weren't legally able to drink at age 19 remember what it was like at that age. We remember fights over stupid things that were fueled by alcohol, we all remember at least one friend who did not get home safely after a night of fun. We remember the incident between a guy and a girl and his excuse was "she really wanted it" or another incident where even her friends were saying it was "her fault for drinking anyway" and "she knew what kind of party it was" .
If the problems were just confined to cleaning up beer cans and vomit before the parent came home then I wouldn't care, but drinking underage leads to other crimes and is itself illegal. I sound like a broken record but enforcing the law can prevent more serious problems. You don't like the law - call your state rep. "

cky749 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 12:38 PM:

" Can you guys honestly sit here and tell me you never had been to a party under 21 and had a few drinks. I know some of these kids and its not like they even do this stuff often. You need to take a second and think back to when you were a kid and realize how much this sh*t world has changed. I know back in the day all that would have happened was the police would have told everyone to go home, and now a days people like you guys ruin it talking about jail time and what not be for real these are just kids having fun just like the most of you used to before you decided that having fun is totally out of the question and your too stuck on your high horse to realize it. I am not one to promote underage drinking but like realist said "All over 18. Guess what -- you're grownups now." So if you want to try them as grown ups treat them like one. I hate you all goodbye "

hardhearted wrote on Jun 22, 2009 11:58 AM:

" I think kevin h, jose21 and ishouldbemayor (all posters whith whom I have agreed with in the past on others issues) should stop and think about this. The issue is not "partying" it's breaking the law and possibly putting others in danger. The police weren't on underage drinking patrol, they were responding to a report of a loud party. The perpetrators brought the attention of their law breaking on themselves.
I'm not naive, I worked in clubs and I went to college. Underage drinking often leads to other crimes, such as disturbing the peace, assault, sexual assault, DUI and motor vehicle homicide. Who knows what problems the police prevented that night.
BTW - the cops aren't naive either. They know that this behavior goes on, but until the legislature changes the law - they are supposed to enforce it. "

realist wrote on Jun 22, 2009 11:51 AM:

" If it's not a first offense, yes I would like to see jail time. Especially to those who procured the alcohol. If under age drinkers are students in public high schools I would like to see them expelled, if they are receiving state aid to go to college I would like to see the aid revoked. I think we have progressed beyond the "wink wink, it's okay everyone does it" mentality. Why have laws if they aren't going to be enforced? "

ishouldbemayor wrote on Jun 22, 2009 11:50 AM:

" I feel better every time these "criminals" get arrested. I will be able to sleep at night now that I know there will be no partying. "

jose21 wrote on Jun 22, 2009 11:28 AM:

" Realist - what would you like the judge to give them? Jail time? "

realist wrote on Jun 22, 2009 10:26 AM:

" All over 18. Guess what -- you're grownups now. You will be tried as adults. Let's hope you are all attractive, dress well and come from good families because the judge will give you some joke of a community sentence. "

mmarcia wrote on Jun 22, 2009 10:22 AM:

" WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE KIDS? And who are the NA residents over 21? Name them all!

I know, kevinh, blah blah blah. Maybe we should just let them drink themselves into oblivion - Darwin and all that. But I fear that one of them will get behind the wheel and murder someone else. "

kevin h. wrote on Jun 22, 2009 7:56 AM:

" Yawn. "

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