20 citations issued at juvenile party

Two men in their 40s and 17 minors were issued citations early Sunday after deputies were called to a juvenile party at a house in the 900 block of Rubio.

Deputies arrived shortly after 11 p.m. and observed numerous vehicles parked on the property, beer cans, beer bottles and cups littering the ground. Juveniles also were observed attempting to dump alcohol and throwing away beer cans and bottles.

Sheriff's spokesmen Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said deputies could see into the house and observed about 50 minors.

"We ended up issuing 17 citations for minor consuming and booked one 17-year-old girl because we couldn't find a responsible adult for her," Mezzetta said.

Citations for contributing to the neglect of a minor were issued to a 44-year-old man and a 45-year-old man.

"It was their house but they couldn't explain how the party started or why all the kids were in their home," Mezzetta said. "They didn't appear to be related to any of the kids."

Mezzetta said swing shift and graveyard shift officers were on duty and able to process the large number of suspects.

He said seven suspects were between ages 18 and 20 and the rest were 16 and 17.

Deputies contacted parents who picked up their children. The citations require mandatory appearances in juvenile court and East Fork Justice Court for the adults.

"Parents need to be well aware of their children's activities," Mezzetta said. "This could have turned tragic. Obviously, we had some fairly high blood-alcohol contents and if any of those kids had gotten behind a wheel, it could have been disastrous.

"We've already had issues in this county with alcohol poisoning. There are so many things that could go wrong."