Police arrested Janice Macomber, 43, at her Apple Court, Southold, home and charged her with violating the August 2007 Suffolk County Social Host Law, enacted to deter consumption of alcohol by minors at parties. Three teens also were ticketed for underage possession of alcohol, police said.
This is the first time local police have invoked the Social Host Law, according to Capt. Martin Flatley. In previous cases, adults have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, he said. But in this case, since Ms. Macomber didn't provide the alcohol or drugs, it was more appropriate for Officer William Brewer to bring the social host charge against her, the captain said.
One teen said an invitation to the party indicated that Jello shots -- gelatin made with liquor -- would be served, but Ms. Macomber said attendees were provided only pizza.
Ms. Macomber, who declined to talk at length about her arrest, did say that about 60 teens had been invited to attend the party, held in her back yard under a large, heated tent. Teens from Southold paid as much as $10 each and teens from Mattituck $3 each to defray the cost of renting the tent, according to one partygoer who asked not to be identified. She could not account for the discrepancy in the charges or say how much money had been taken in that night.
Police said Ms. Macomber told them only that the teens paid to rent the tent. While Ms. Macomber and her husband, Roy, were in the home at the time police arrived at 10:29 p.m., only Ms. Macomber was charged because she "more or less took responsibility," Capt. Flatley said. In addition, there were young children in the Macomber household and arresting both parents would have required action to provide care for the children, Capt. Flatley said.
"If I made a mistake, it was in not calling police myself" when the party began getting out of hand, Ms. Macomber told The Suffolk Times. She saw teens she didn't know and by about 9:40 p.m., she said, she began trying to break up the party.
Police arrived to find teens with alcohol in the street -- a quiet cul de sac off Jasmine Lane in Southold. They proceeded to break up the party and subsequently took Ms. Macomber into custody, later releasing her on an undisclosed amount of bail for a future date in Southold Justice Court.
"I think the point was made," Capt. Flatley said about the arrest. He hopes parents will get the message and avoid allowing such parties to occur on their property, he said. In a small town, when you invite 60 teens, it's not surprising that they invite their friends and the party grows, he said. (See sidebar story "Advice for parents" for local expers' tips on how to prevent substance abuse by teens.)
The father of a teen who attended the party said his daughter called home asking him to pick her up after police arrived. She said she was able to walk out of the backyard and into the street to await his arrival without being stopped by police. But she did have to call a friend's mother because her friend had become inebriated and "really sick" and needed to be taken home, the first girl's father said.
"I kind of knew there was going to be drinking," the father said about his own daughter. "But we trust her" and there was no indication that she had joined in the drinking or marijuana smoking Friday night.
"Some kids were trashed," he said.
"I'm normally very protective, but it was right here and I knew the people," the mother of one teen said about allowing her daughter to attend the party.
"I guess it just got out of hand," another teen said. "There was no doubt that [the Macombers] knew drinking was going on," the teen said. "They were just trying to break up the party."
Another teen said this party was "a bit too much" but she wouldn't hesitate to attend another such event in the community.
"It's pretty safe," she said.
jlane@timesreview.com