A Southborough couple is facing charges for a second incident at their home involving alleged underage drinking.
The first incident, just five months earlier, resulted in charges against one of the residents for furnishing alcohol after a minor had to be transported to the hospital. Apparently,those charges were later dismissed. On Saturday night, police responded to a report that another underage drinking party was taking place.
The press release from Police Chief Kenneth Paulhus states:
On, 10/26/2019, at 9:00 p.m., Southborough Officers James Gallagher and Cam Chapski responded to [a Lynbrook Road home] for a report of an underage drinking party. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the homeowners. . .* They offered to have the officers check the residence.
Once inside, the officers reported an overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverages, and at least 20 juveniles in the patio area. In addition, they observed approximately sixty to seventy juveniles running from the basement toward Main Street. They were able to detain seven juveniles from Southborough and Northborough, who were later released to the custody of their parents. Several large bottles of vodka were seized from the basement.
[The homeowners] were charged with the following: LIQUOR, PERSON UNDER 21 PROCURE, 138/34A/C (Social Host Law), NOISY&DISORDERLY HOME, 272/53/1. They will be summonsed to appear in Westborough Court at a later date.
[One of the homeowners] was charged with, LIQUOR, PERSON UNDER 21 PROCURE, 138/34A/C, by the Southborough Police on May 23, 2019, for a similar underage drinking party at the same address in which a juvenile was transported from the house by Southborough Rescue. The charge was later dismissed.
Wicked Local interviewed Paulhus who made his upset over the situation clear:
It’s extremely disappointing we are responding to the same address,” said Police Chief Kenneth M. Paulhus. “Obviously the homeowners didn’t get the message. We are hoping the court takes that into consideration this time.”. . .
Paulhus said they decided not to charge the juveniles attending the party, but they have let the school resource officer know.
**By blog policy, identifications of the accused were stripped out.
The homeowners must think they are special, jail time and community service is a good place to start
Jail is too expensive. If we’re not jailing shoplifters in the state, I certainly don’t want to jail these people. I’m surprised you didn’t recommend a fine instead. My taxes are high enough, thank you.
This is an awfully presumptive piece in a day and age of teenage social media lunacy. What chance do parents have when persons who are not invited to an event show up anyway uninvited? This is a big caution to parents on Social Host Law, for those who are barely aware of it, and on teenagers-gone-wild, as they can swarm your house too uninvited. Anyone who knows this family knows that these allegations very likely have a more detailed story behind it.
Imagine this, Chief Paulhaus, someone ruining your spouse and teenager’s life, harming your family’s reputation, and coming to your home as a swarm of uninvited guests and having the cops show up at your door. Would you really want a press release issued about it, ruining your family’s reputation without a chance to tell your side of the story? Without even understanding that there are charges pending against you? Tarnishing the reputation and standing of any family in the community? With links to a local newspaper press release, no less, with a picture of your home via google earth and a red dot on your house.
There is no follow up article on this blog or the local paper that un-does the damage to the family. The previous case was dismissed in a court of law. That speaks for itself. Where is the follow up story relating all the facts as they transpired that led to a dismissal in court? Where is that story? These parents called the police trying to do the right thing.
This current situation is like taking a sledge hammer to a situation that does not require one. Press the charges and get the other side of the story later? Like last time, as of this moment in time, these parents, who were cooperative in trying to assist the police, have not been notified that they have any charges pending. The charges get mailed later? They read about it in the blog and the newspaper? This is not good community policing, sorry to disagree with the way this has been handled. As for this article, it links to a press release (really?) to the local paper with a red dot on the home owner’s address. This is the first time ever seeing something like this. What is most disappointing? The lack of common sense and forgetting the Golden Rule. This could happen to any parents in any community in this social media frenzied day and age. This could have been handled better.
Addressing the question of why there was no coverage on the blog when the charges were dismissed is that I hadn’t received word that the charges were dismissed. There was no press release, story in other media, or a statement issued by the couple. If they had wished to share their side of the story I would have shared it with readers.
I agree with The Golden Rule. I was completely taken aback when I saw the actual police report posted on Facebook. As I read it, I realized immediately what had happened. The 20 or so kids that were upstairs were the invited guest, the others, as before, were the crashers. It was obvious to me that the parents must have called for police assistance. I do not know them, but my heart goes out to them. The parents of the crashers should be standing with these parents. We should be recognizing the true issue and problem here. Why is the need for kids to seek out homes to party at? I would be so embarrassed and openly apologetic had one of my kids been among the uninvited guests. We should be standing behind these parents and trying to solve the actual problem.
The parents could not get a copy of the police report in the prior matter that got dismissed. So they could not understand fully the charges and prepare properly in advance. They only got a copy of the report the actual day of the court proceeding. How shocking is that? And now the police post the report on social media? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? This feels wrong in process (police reports should be provided by request to defendants in advance and not sandbagging in the USA) and not campaigned using social media. All of this is bad for the community.
Ruining someone’s life is having it end up in a body bag. Thank you to Chief Paulus and the SPD for doing your job and for protecting to lives of the people in our community.
While being pro police, there is obviously disagreement about the way this is being handled. It reflects poor judgment and exaggerated measures. This family is being subject to a witch hunt from the actions of others, namely irresponsible uninvited teenagers. Of course, all police are expected to serve and protect. But doing the job does not involve withholding police reports, nor try to sandbag defendants in court without their understanding of charges in advance of an actual court date or due process. This is unprofessional, chilling, and inappropriate. Also, not ruin reputations on social media before charges are actually noticed to the family.
This family hopefully will have its day in court. No family deserves to be vilified, embarrassed or harassed. This is why good community policing is so important. To build trust within the community. Not create distrust. Not create fear of the police, fear of harassment, fear of being pasted all over social media before the facts are known. Where is the fairness in a witch hunt on social media before charges are even made? This is absurd.
20 on the patio and approximately SIXTY to SEVENTY kids running towards Main?
https://tinyurl.com/y3t9ccrp
Is that like half the entire grade? Twice now?
My lord.
The charges were dismissed in a court of law after a presentation of all the facts. There is never any admission or follow up press release by the police after the fact. The damage can be permanent to a family or a teenager.
This recent event was a Halloween party for a young person. The older teenagers showed up via crazy teenage social media storm. They were not invited. They swarmed the house. Now look what has happened. The parents did not learn about charges until they read the blog and the paper. And off with their heads. This is not good community policing. This could happen to any family or teenager. This type of handling of a matter like this is presumptive and traumatic. It is damaging and harmful to reputations and the trauma of handling the matter can be permanent. Watch out. This is a cautionary note for all parents.
While I understand what you’re trying to say by noting that the first case was dismissed, the fact that it occurred in the first place should have been enough for the parents to know not to throw another party for that child at their house.
There are many things you can control as a parent, and understandably many others you cannot, but if you’ve had one incident with the police due to similar circumstances, the best way to avoid it occurring again is to learn from the first time and not put you, your child or your property in that position again.
I understand it’s not black and white, and additional details may come out in the future to allow us all to understand what happened, but the simple fact is that they could have avoided this all if they hadn’t thrown the party. Sorry, but twice is no accident.
Don’t agree with your take on “twice is no accident” at all. The actual teenage perpetrators who invaded and caused all of this are walking free. The teenagers caused this mess, not the parents who were minding their own business and trying to hold a private event on their property. That’s the key point.
No more celebrations or parties at your house or your neighbors or your friends? Because a hand full of unruly crazed teenagers hi-jack an event and social media goes wild? The parents are the victims. They have been victimized by these unwelcomed, uninvited teenagers swarming their property and it could be you next. What safeguards could be put in place?
They were two separate events and two different set of circumstances. The first incident was dismissed in a court of law. The second has been plastered over social media, and oddly, including the police report. This could happen to any parent and any house in any community. What is the unfortunate outcome in this day and age is that no parent or family or household is safe against this happening. More to the point, it is very likely parties and celebrations of any kind for anyone could fall victim to this bashing mentality and rush to judgment. Be forewarned. All parents could potentially be dealing with this.
To “Mom” thank you for the common sense comments. It is shocking to learn that the actual police report is posted on social media. That act, combined with the press release with the aerial picture of their house with a red dot is horrifying. It feels like a rush to judgment before charges are even noticed to the parents. And before all sides of the story are even known. It smacks of being premature and harassment in the way it has been publicized. This is alarming and not right for the community. Parents should be alarmed and cautious on this shoot first ask questions later mentality as this is the danger of crazy teenage social media.
To clarify, it is Southborough Wicked Local that has chosen to post the map. That isn’t part of the press release, though the address is.
The SPD posting a press release on social media isn’t new. They have been doing for years now. In relation to this type of case, the SPD has been promoting their efforts to crack down on hosting of underage drinking since at least 2017. They began issuing press releases of the arrests along with warnings for other parents reminding them about the Massachusetts Social Host Law. They again posted information about the law today.
The police report was posted on the Sobo Parents Share and Care Facebook page. Very mean spirited thing to do. In my opinion, this family has been targeted by social media bullying several times over.
That is not only unusual and mean spirited, that is harassment. Not just bullying in my opinion. That inspires an environment of fear instead of trust. These are the dangers of social media.
I agree.
It is highly disappointing in how this entire matter is being handled. It is a rush to judgment, premature, wierd campaign with maps, addresses, and no charges in hand. That’s screwy. It may be the way chosen to handle it, but it reflects poor judgment and an out-of-scale handling and processing. How is this actually going to solve unruly teenagers from doing this again?
With no police report provided to shocked and stunned parents until the moment you arrive in court trying to defend yourself is just plain wrong. What chance does any defendant have against the Southborough Police when they can’t get a copy of the police report to even understand what is being faced. What is the point of making that difficult? None of this seems right. It’s not OK to put a family up to public ridicule when they are the victims of crazy teenagers, with the police jumping in on social media to boot. Again, this is a big cautionary note to parents.
Golden Rule – you are either the person that hosted this party or a very good friend.
If I had 60 kids in my basement, you can be sure I would be checking to make sure none of them are drinking. You can try and paint a different picture, but this was not a social media party. It was planned and most of the guest were all local kids. They got busted by the police and deserve to be punished severely.
As far as the party in May – there was a kid in their house that got so drunk an ambulance was called. They got lucky that the charges were dropped.
Having a second party after what happened in May is unbelievable. They are either
clueless or just don’t care.
It’s up to the parents to control the party. They should have put an end do it and called the police. They didn’t, and this is their second offense. Case closed. They need to be prosecuted for their laxity.
Djd66. You have no idea what you are talking about. Agree to disagree on all points.
The parents called for assistance and properly broke up the party. Also, you are making many wrong assumptions. But par for your course and the dangers of social media.
Btw, you must be a good friend or tied into some good ole boy network. How did you know about the ambulance? Urban myth?
FYI, the parents were trying to do the right thing and called for assistance, which is what most guides tell citizens to do. Crazy teens get sent home. Where are the parents of unruly, disobedient teens? Are the controlling their crazed social media activities? Their sneaking behaviors? Do they know where their teens are and controlling their own young adults? There’s plenty of blame to go around. But that doesn’t white wash the role of these older kids or get to a solution on how to stop their misuse of social media, swarming and trespassing, and other abuses. Teens make bad choices. It all starts at home with good parenting. And they may even disobey good parents.
No need for anyone to have connections to public safety to know about the hospital transport. In the press release from May, the SPD shared:
The Police Chief told Wicked Local that the phone call about this party was from an anonymous parent. Do you have information otherwise or is that an assumption that you made?
Golden Rule, I am not sure what your “relationship” is to the parents, but I do hold them responsible for “hosting” another underage drinking party. Making this even worse I believe this is a different child and age group. If you were that parent would you allow your younger child to host a party with close to 100 kids after what happened last year? The “ right thing” for these parents to have done was to say “NO” to another Teenage party. They clearly don’t care what their children are doing and are endangering other people’s children. Blaming” poor parenting” all around, it is clear you either have young children or no children.
I cant believe i’m reading this. “What chance do parents have when persons who are not invited to an event show up anyway uninvited?” Oh Golden rule person, heres what you do, you say hell noooo!!
So youre trying to say 60+ pple entered that home uninvited and they had no idea what to do about it..Did a bus drop them off or something’?! How do 60 pple just walk in to your basement and you have no clue!!! You shouldn’t own a home. I’d tell them to sell their house and move into something they can manage and control. Thats just insane reasoning sorry.
Hats off to SPD swift operators!
The only thing insane here is rushing to judgment and this strange “mob rule” mentality before the actual filing of charges. Now that’s not so funny, “LOL.”
“Mom of older kids”. The unfortunate byproduct of this kind of discourse is that you are wrong on almost everything you state as fact. So agree to disagree for now. When crazed teenagers crash your house via crazed social media frenzy, good luck, because by your standards a rush to judgment is ok before charges are even made.
Golden Rule, I am wrong on EVERYTHING? They had an underage party last year, a kid got so drunk an ambulance was called. What judgement is being rushed this second time? WOW…. I love the term “crazed teenagers”! Re read the articles…the parents never called the police! Also,the Police Chief stated last year that he would be posting via FB about underage drinking parties so as to deter other parents to either monitor what guests bring into their homes or to say “NO” to a party!!
Golden Rule, I just wanted to add…you seem to have a lot extra info not mentioned anywhere else. Were the parents having a neighborhood/family/adult party at the same time when the crazed teenagers showed up? I didn’t see that mentioned on the police blog, in Wicked Local or on this site. Just saying…
Parents are the Victims
Quote ” Upon arrival, they were greeted by the homeowners. . .* They offered to have the officers check the residence”
The fact that the homeowners “offered” to have their house checked, tells me that they were definitely not providing the Liquor.
Quote ” they observed approximately sixty to seventy juveniles running from the basement toward Main Street ”
Why were the kids running if they were not in the wrong ? Why were they running if they were invited Guests?
What is this all amounting to ?
Should parents of Teens stop having any parties for their kids?
Should kids not be given access to Social Media ?
Should parents not be teaching their kids to behave not disrespect their hosts ?
Should parents not know where their kids are going and if they’ve been actually invited or are they crashing a private party ?
This is scary !!
Having people / kids crash a party is bad enough,
Then the crashers bring alcohol and behave unruly – really horrible……
To then charge the victims (home owners) !!
Scary!! This could happen to anybody who decides to have their kids teen friends over to celebrate any occasion.
Jasline,
In the eye of the law they are wrong…0f course they allowed the police into their home once the police were called by someone else. Why didn’t they know there were 70 kids in their basement? After last year wouldn’t they be suspicious of large groups of teenagers congregating? Yes, the kids ran because they were probably drinking and they were there because apparently these parents are not paying close enough attention and most likely is known as a “party” house. Remember 70 kids!!!
To answer your question “should parents of teens stop having any parties for their kids?” Maybe these particular parents should not be allowing their teens to have parties!
One more point… I would tell my children if you don’t respect our home your friends won’t either.. So to your point maybe their children need to respect their parents’ home.
Jaline –
“Once inside, the officers reported an overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverages”
So 2 police officers said the house stunk like booze but the homeowners had no clue people were drinking in their home?
Sorry, these people are not victims! They are adults and they had children in their home drinking. If they felt things were out of control, they could have called the police themselves. They didn’t.
“Should parents of teens stop having parties for their kids”. Yes, they should, especially when an ambulance had to come to the last party they hosted.
“Scary this could happen to anybody “. No, I can guarantee you with certainty- this would not happen in my home. I would not allow kids to drink in my home and would be monitoring closely. If at any point I felt things were out of control, I would call the police.
Re: police comments on the smell of alcohol.
Consider the very real possibility the responding officers might be prone to exaggeration. After all, it makes for a more exciting report. Who is going to question the word of a police officer?
Do you really believe they don’t make things up? It happens all the time.
Check out the Youtube videos, by lawyers, of what you should say to the police. I’ll give you a hint. Exercise your fifth amendment rights, because what you say will be used against you. Further, even what you don’t say will be used against you. If that’s not enough, your words will be edited or twisted in order to create a case for court.
After invoking your fifth amendment rights, silence is your best friend!
Jaline, you are quite right that this is scary. The scariest part is that it could happen to any family. The jumble of mixed up “factoids” and the mob rule mentality is wrong, scary, and causing harm and mental anguish, including now racist rants on social media. It’s crazy. This is the harmful unexpected outcome of plastering a story and a police report on social media, before any charges are even made. It’s harming kids, a family, and a community. This is profoundly disappointing in the lack of forethought as to consequences. In the meantime, these zealots will not allow for anything other than their own opinion and version of their own “factoids.” Innocent until proven guilty has gone out the window, along with common sense, facts, understanding, compassion, and the golden rule. Hopeless this family will have its day in court.
You are spot on!
So much righteousness!
We can assume these righteous inDUHviduals.are morally perfect in every way.
Yeah, right…
What was that statement about casting the first stone?
What a ‘community’…
Wait – look at all the churches! Where’s the Christian behavior?
I am probably the only one who thinks this is a misguided law to begin with. As anyone knows the more you tell kids at that age they can’t, the more they want to get their hands on it. High school students who are 1-2 years away from college should have the ability to try alcohol before they are in college and there is no supervision. They should be taught responsible drinking from early on. Drinking and driving is another issue entirely, and one incident should result in the loss of license until one is 21. (And, I am all in favor of an adult DUI having his/her licence revoked on the first offense.) Drunk driving continues to be an issue because penalties are not severe enough for the first offense. Coming down hard on the parents while letting juveniles who run simply be released to the custody of their parents seems a little unfair. The kids knew what they were doing. They, too, should be held accountable. I don’t know these people, however, the fact that they invited police in, tells me there is more to this story. And no, a couple of parents busted for an underage drinking in their home does not make me feel any safer.
The above comment from JMO makes me terribly disappointed and sad.
I grew up having never once seen a drop of alcohol in our home or see my parents have it.
I then attended and lived in a large state school campus with plenty of unsupervised drinking, drugs, and partying. I had no part in it despite plenty of invites and friends that did.
It seems that my parents taught me things that actually helped; like self-control, self-esteem, right and wrong, and how my actions can affect others.
Why has the bar been lowered to being “taught responsible drinking from early on,” instead of believing you have the ability to teach your kids to hold themselves to a higher standard? When you turn 21, head down to Sperry’s for a 6-pack and have an enjoyable time.
If I am to truly believe that my children are special and deserve everything, why not teach them how to set themselves apart and be different and special, instead of how o manage their consumption as they follow the crowd…
I’m not going to comment on your life experience except to say that perhaps it’s not what everyone experiences. There is a choice, and some kids will choose to drink. It doesn’t make them bad or weak or mean that they don’t hold themselves to a higher standard in life. Personally, I would like those who choose to drink to do it in a responsible, educated manner. A six pack is not responsible drinking, and my statements do not mean that I encourage alcohol consumption. I also don’t believe that telling kids “no” is going to work for all kids.
Golden Rule seems to have way more info on this than the police. Must have been at the party…
Renault: I am shocked- shocked- to find that gambling is going on in here!
Party out of control? Crashers showing up? Call 9-1-1. Simple as that.
John Kendall, you are correct! Teen age lives are at stake! There is no place for taking chances! You know who is at your home and what they are doing!