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Published on 08/18/1999 All articles from this issue

Jail time for Los Altos teen after repeat offense - hosting a juvenile party

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

There's one teen in town who had an unexpected twist to her summer vacation: time in the county jail.

The 18-year-old woman pleaded guilty on Aug. 11 in Santa Clara County Superior Court in Palo Alto to hosting a juvenile party. (The Town Crier chooses not to publish the teen's name.)

She was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. Of those, 25 days were suspended, but she will experience five days behind bars. She was also sentenced to 160 hours of community service and will be required to complete an alcohol awareness course, court officials said.

Los Altos city attorney Bob Booth called this a "stiff penalty," but said she was a repeat offender. The first offense had been when she was a juvenile.

"I hope the message will get out about underage drinking," Booth said.

Trouble began for the teen when she hosted a juvenile party on June 20, two weeks before her 19th birthday, at her south Los Altos home. Her parents were on vacation, officials said.

According to court documents, police found 40-50 underage kids inside the house and 25-30 in the yard. Police reported seeing 80 to 100 bottles of beer.

The teen said her friends were throwing her a surprise party, officials said.

Los Altos adopted its juvenile party ordinance in an effort to control underage drinking. The cut-off that triggers the ordinance is 10 at the party.

Booth said there have been six cases in the last 60 days of juvenile alcohol parties. One host was under 18, four are in the 18-21 range. One is a 55-year-old Los Altos man.

"He better be prepared for a nasty time" in court, Booth said. He had 200 kids at a party in his house. "We mean business," Booth said.

"No one is happy when one of our young people gets in trouble," Booth said. "But we take alcohol consumption in underage minors as a serious matter. Apparently the courts do, too."