Grosse Pointe Farms Police Break Up Party, Confiscate Drug Paraphernalia

For the second time in a matter of weeks, police have submitted a case to the city's prosecutor for a violation of the open house party ordinance. 

Officers were called to the 400 block of Hillcrest shortly after 2 a.m. Friday, July 8, for a loud party. Responding officers found several teens inside the house, which was dotted with drug paraphernalia and city street signs. 

The 16-year-old boy who lives in the house told officers his mother was aware of his marijuana use and that his friends were at the house. Officers called her to the scene as she has a different address in Oxford Township and she was familiar with the drug paraphernalia littered throughout the house, according to a report. 

There were six teens, all of whom are from the Grosse Pointes. Four are 16, one is 17 and two are 18 years old. The 18-year-olds were charged with possession of narcotics paraphernalia and police are seeking a similar charge against the teen whose home it was. They are also seeking that his 41-year-old mother be charged with an ordinance violation for allowing him to have a party with underage kids. 

Three of the teens had blood alcohol levels ranging from 0.02 percent to 0.05 percent, which is illegal for anyone younger than 21. 

One of the teens was released to his mother from the house because he did not have a blood alcohol level and all of the teens said he had nothing to do with the drugs or paraphernalia. The rest of the teens were taken to the police department where they were later picked up by their parents.

Officers took three steel grinders, multiple pipes, a scale, bags, papers, large pipes and two bowls with marijuana residue from the home in addition to the several street signs, according to a report.

Farms Public Safety Director Dan Jensen said this is the second case being sent to the city's attorney for prosecution under the open house party ordinance. 

In the other case, which happened about six weeks ago, responding officers ran out of the portable Breathalyzer straws while trying to gather the teenagers' levels of intoxication, Jensen sad. There were dozens of teens in the Farms home with parents and alcohol was everywhere, he said, including a beer pong table.

The parents in that case initially said they didn't know what had been going on and later one became belligerent with the officers on the scene, Jensen said.

For the kids, police are attempting to get them into a diversion program so as to avoid having a minor in possession conviction that could affect their ability to get a job, college admissions or scholarships, Jensen said.

Parents of the teens who attended that party took the call from police seriously, Jensen said, as they should.

Meanwhile, in another unrelated case, Farms police arrested two teen girls—ages 16 and 17—July 7 about 9:30 p.m. after one girl's mother called to say her daughter was drunk and out of control. The daughter and her friend left the house and a responding officer found them walking nearby. The 16-year-old had a 0.16 percent blood alcohol content and the 17-year-old had a 0.07 percent blood alcohol content, according to a report.

During their arrest, police discovered both had several pills on them believed to be sertraline hydrocloride, also known as Zoloft, an antidepressant drug, and amphetamine. The pills were taken into evidence and both were charged with minor in possession of alcohol.  

Jensen said parents should take teens' underage drinking seriously. He said that sometimes parents–many of whom were legally allowed to drink at 18–compare it to their own youth experience. Times have changed and now there are significant penalties, he said.

The goal isn't to punish parents who truly don't know something is going on but to address those who are enabling and encouraging it, he said. This doesn't mean if a parent is out of town they are off the hook either, he said, explaining parents should have some measures in place for friends or family to check up on kids who are left behind during a vacation.