By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
This news story was updated at 4:39 p.m. with news of TV reporter assaulted outside party house
News flash: If you’re going to throw a drinking party and invite teenagers, don’t advertise it on Facebook, unless you want a bunch of deputies joining you.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday they got wind of a Saturday night affair near Toledo and put together a team that included four extra deputies, reserve deputies, police from Winlock and Toledo and the Washington State Patrol.
When they arrived at 11 p.m. they found well in excess of 300 people, both over and under 21 years old, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust.
Aust said they were able to arrest eight underage party-goers for being minors either in possession or having consumed alcohol. The individuals arrested were between the ages of 17 and 20 and came from places such as Chehalis, Toledo, Castle Rock, Vancouver and Battleground, according to the sheriff’s office.
“They just did what they could to contain it,” Aust said of the law enforcement officers.
The homeowner and his friends are being investigated for contributing alcohol to minors, the sheriff’s office reported. Aust said the man they think is the homeowner denied he was behind the gathering and said he was trying to break it up.
Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said in a news release underage drinking is a serious issue in the county and his office will deal with it aggressively.
“We have had several injuries and even a death over the past year due to adults giving or allowing juveniles to consume alcohol,” Mansfield said. “The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has a no-tolerance stance on this issue.”
The event was at a residence on the 100 block of Fluckinger Road west of Toledo.
Aust said from what he could gather on the social networking site, Facebook, it was a going away party for someone, and advertised there would be a couple of kegs of beer but otherwise, it was billed as “Bring your own bottle”.
A trooper arrested one person for driving under the influence.
A clue there might be underage drinking; a message on Facebook from one of the hosts: “If you’re under the age of 18, don’t tell your parents.”
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Update: The sheriff’s office said later this morning a television news reporter was assaulted yesterday as the homeowner tried to stop her from filming his house and field.
Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said a deputy was called at about 1:35 p.m. after the man reportedly pushed her camera twice and grabbed her arm telling her to get off private property. The reporter had a camera set up on a tri-pod on the side of the road, according to Brown.
She kept the camera rolling during the attack.
William E. Thomas, 51, of Toledo, was arrested for fourth-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, Brown said. He was released just after noon today.
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See the story from KOIN TV and their video from KOINlocal6.com here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter