Dozens Caught In Kegger Raids King County Targets End-Of-School Parties

Dozens of people were arrested as King County police cracked down on underage drinking at end-of-the-school-year parties.

Some schools had sent letters to students last week, warning them of the crackdown.

While that warning seemed to keep younger teenagers away from the parties, authorities were still deluged with citizen complaints about raucous teenage gatherings, King County Police Maj. Sue Rahr said.

“At one point, we had about a dozen calls holding,” she said. “We were pleased but frustrated. I could have used a couple of more teams.”

The weekend team of 12 officers broke up one party Friday night and took the suspected drinkers to the gymnasium of Eastlake High School on the Sammamish Plateau for processing. On the same night, a 17-year-old Kent boy was shot at a party in Maple Valley during a dispute.

On Saturday, Rahr, who heads the North Precinct, followed teenagers in an unmarked car from Inglewood Plaza Shopping Center to a nearby party.

“I started following them right up to a big party less than a quarter of a mile away from the shopping center. They’re not that sneaky,” she said.

According to Rahr, the party included three kegs of beer and 25 to 30 juveniles. It took two trips for a police van to take them all to the high school gym, she said.

Most of the juveniles were shocked by the police interest.

“First their reaction was, ‘Why are you guys here?’ Then they can’t believe we were actually going to arrest them,” she said.

At another party, a huge bash that featured a live band and a bonfire, was attended by nearly 90 people - including 12 juveniles. Guests paid $3 for a cup of beer, and police seized more than $350.

The host had earlier bragged to an undercover police officer that he had never been arrested.