Bonney Lake drinking party results in 20 teen arrests

A party on graduation night in Bonney Lake resulted in 20 teenagers being arrested by a ten-officer team. Around midnight, officers working with volunteers and substance abuse professionals from Pierce County’s Party Intervention Patrol, took a 19-year-old into custody along with his 17-year-old brother. They hosted the Saturday night bash for 25 underage drinkers while their parents were out of state attending a wedding. The 19-year-old was charged with providing premises for the illegal consumption of alcohol and taken to jail. Bail was set at $1,500.

Officers confiscated beer, whiskey and marijuana found inside the home, near two beer pong tables set up to play binge drinking games and around an outdoor swimming pool. One attendee had a blood alcohol level of .31, almost four times the level at which an adult driver is considered legally impaired. Another had two warrants out for his arrest and was taken to jail.

Those cited for minor in possession were 17 to 19 years old and most were students or recent graduates from Bonney Lake High School.

Officers responded to a second party around 2 a.m. at which over 50 kids were reported to be drinking. That party broke up when news of the first party bust reached the young revelers. Officers arrested three underage youths as they attempted to get in their cars and leave the party.

Chemical dependency professionals and parent volunteers met with the kids and their parents after the arrests to talk about steps the teens and their family members could take to make sure Saturday night’s risk-taking behavior would not happen again.

“What young people under 21 need to know is that if you are going to party in Pierce County with alcohol or other drugs, it’s just a matter of time before you will get caught,” said John Cheesman, chief of the Fircrest Police Department and chair of the Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force that sponsors the party intervention patrols along with the Puyallup Police Department.

The chief added that parents can be liable for injuries on their property resulting from underage drinking whether they are home or not. “Insurance does not cover alcohol poisonings, brain damage from binging, swimming pool mishaps, vandalism, fist fights or date rape – all common consequences of these unsupervised parties,” Cheesman said.

The Party Intervention Patrol is in its third year of operation. Project partners include the Bonney Lake, Sumner, Puyallup, Orting and Gig Harbor Police Departments and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department along with the Tacoma office of the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Over 25 additional community volunteers and chemical dependency professionals participate in the project. The Tacoma Police Department will join the project in the fall. The community patrols are funded by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Department of Social and Health Services and a Drug Free Communities grant in Orting. Participating in Saturday night’s patrol and community intervention was the Sumner, Puyallup, and Bonney Lake Police Departments along with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Washington State Liquor Control Board. The Bonney Lake Police Department coordinated and led Saturday’s team.