COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -
Columbus police arrested 23 people and wrote tickets for several more for alcohol violations after busting up a house party over the weekend.
Early Saturday morning Columbus police received a call for a loud house party near the intersection of Doerun Drive and Antler Drive in North Columbus.
"We decided this is the last one that we're going to have. Let's throw a big party, go all out, and then that's it: no more parties, no more craziness. We really did not expect it to get as big as it did," explained Tuesday Saeli, a 20 year old who lives at the home.
Before they knew it, Saeli and her friends say, there were close to 150 people at the house, most of them minors. She told News Leader 9, "The next thing I know the police kicked the door in and caught us all with shots in our hands, pulled us all out one by one, and I saw everyone in the living room lined up."
Saeli and Angel Luke were charged with minor in possession of alcohol and possession of marijuana. Amanda Bartlett was also charged with possession of marijuana, along with furnishing alcohol to a minor. Six more people were charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor: Kelly Meeks, Cody Graves, Victor Floyd-Collazo, Blake Womack, David Smith, and Chelsea Simmons. They were all taken to the Muscogee County Jail along with 13 party-goers under the age of 21 who were charged with minor in possession of alcohol.
Tuesday says she knows underage drinking is against the law, but they were doing it responsibly, "If you're drinking and driving, you have a DD, we have breathalyzer, or you can stay here and we will take your keys. We don't let you drive home drunk if you've had too much. And if you've had to too much and you're getting crazy, we cut you off. We might be drinking and having a good time but that does not mean we throw caution and responsibility to the wind."
Saeli adds this arrest, and the recent death of 16-year-old Hannah Gilmer, have acted as a major wake-up call, "They said 'how many more kids are going to have to die?' and the room got quiet, because there was nothing we could say to that. They were right. I'm not going to go out, because I did learn from it. It was a mistake and I learned from it, but at the same time I don't necessarily think we did anything too wrong."
Most of the suspects bonded out of the jail, while others appeared in Recorder's Court Saturday morning. The underage drinkers younger than 17 will have to go to Juvenile Court.
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