Summit County Deputies Bust House Party With More Than 50 Underage Drinkers

A Silver Creek Estates homeowner was arrested and later released after Summit County Sheriff's deputies broke up a large underage drinking party at his home Saturday night, with deputies estimating upwards of 50 juveniles scattered into the street as officers approached.

Summit County Sheriff spokesperson Skyler Talbot said deputies first canvassed the neighborhood after receiving complaints about noise. "Upon going up and down the street, seeing which house this was coming from, [deputies] could hear a lot of laughter, partying going on in one of the homes," Talbot said. As officers closed in, the crowd bolted. "As they approached that particular home, there were a number of juveniles that ran away from the home. Our deputies estimate upwards of 50 juveniles who left the home."

Talbot said the homeowner was present and knew his daughter had friends over. Deputies arrested and later released the man on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a class B misdemeanor under Utah law. He had not been formally charged as of Monday afternoon. No juveniles were cited in connection with the incident.

The legal standard Talbot described centers on inaction as much as action. Under Utah law, an adult who acts in a way that could be seen as encouraging a minor to commit a crime, including underage drinking, can face the contributing-to-delinquency charge. Talbot said that bar can be cleared simply by failing to intervene. "In this case, a failure to supervise," he said. "If you're aware that you have 50 kids in your home, a reasonable person or reasonable parent should be aware of what those 50 kids are doing in their home."

The homeowner gave deputies permission by phone to enter the residence and escort the remaining juveniles outside before they were released to their parents.

The house party was one of several incidents handled by the Sheriff's Office in the Snyderville Basin that weekend. On Friday, March 13, deputies arrested a driver with multiple active warrants in the Sheriff's Office parking lot and found illegal narcotics the driver had attempted to hide. That same evening, deputies responded to an intoxicated man in the Snyderville Basin who was disturbing family members; the man was transported to the hospital for a medical evaluation, allegedly assaulted a deputy, and spat in his face before being booked into the Summit County Jail. On Monday, March 16, a welfare check at the Park and Ride on Kilby Road ended with a man arrested for suspected DUI after he failed field sobriety tests in the driver's seat of a parked pickup truck; the vehicle was impounded.

Whether formal charges will be filed against the Silver Creek Estates homeowner remains an open question, and the Sheriff's Office has not yet clarified whether any minors ultimately received alcohol citations.