SCARBOROUGH – An unintended “butt dial” last week led police to a pit party off Merrill Brook Drive, where they busted 13 young adults for underage drinking.

According to Detective Sgt. Rick Rouse, spokesman for the Scarborough Police Department, the local dispatch center received a 911 call at 1:52 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 23.

“It was just an open line, but dispatch advised officers that they could hear what sounded like an altercation in the background,” said Rouse, on Monday.

Using GPS data that came through from the cell phone, workers in the dispatch center were able to trace the call to an area in the woods between Merrill Brook Drive and Broadturn Road. Five officers responded to the scene and after a short search found a party in progress at an old gravel pit. In the time-honored tradition of such gatherings, participants scattered into the woods as soon as police made their presence known, not even pausing to first douse their roaring bonfire.

As it turns out, police now believe there was no altercation, as 911 operators at first feared.

“It might have just been kids yelling,” said Rouse. “Who knows? This party was way off the road. Nobody ever would have seen it, or known it was going on.”

Rouse said there is no way of telling how many people got away, but 10 of the party-goers, aged 18 to 20, were summonsed on the scene for consumption of liquor by a minor. Police canvassed the neighborhood to advise what had happened and ask local residents to be vigilant and call if they spotted any suspicious activity in the area. That extra bit of effort was rewarded about three hours later, at 4:59 a.m., when a man reported seeing three young people emerging from the woods on Goldenwood Drive, a dead-end off Holmes Road located between Merrill Brook Drive and Broadturn Road. That report netted three more summonses.

Among those cited were seven members of the Scarborough High School class of 2013 – Cameron S. Bowker, 18, of Summerfield Lane; Brianna L. Haskell, 18, of Grandview Drive; Carley A. Hughes, 18, of Longmeadow Road; Michael A. Miller, 18, of Hemlock Circle; Nikolai A. Pelletier, 18, of Black Point Road; Ashley M. Ronzo, 18, of River Woods Drive; and Eric J. Woodbury, 18, of Surrey Lane. Also summonsed was one 2012 graduate, Macy A. Turcotte, 19, now of Gorham; and two members of Scarborough’s class of 2011 – Will R. Lynch, 20, of Goldenwood Drive and Anthony J. Cofone, 20, of Route 1.

Pelletier, Turcotte and Woodbury were the three who spent several hours hoping they’d eluded capture, police said.

“It seems pretty clear from what we know that they were at the party,” said Rouse. “After all, they came out of the woods and had alcohol on their breath.”

Others summonsed were Gabriella D. Casale, 19, of Pine Ledge Drive; James P. Ek, 20, of Woodfield Drive; and Adam T. Ek, 18, also of Woodfield Drive. Adam Ek drew additional summonses for possession of marijuana and sale or use of drug paraphernalia.

According to Rouse, the police report of the incident does not make clear who made the accidental call to 911 that resulted in the bust.

“Ultimately, it was good luck for us and bad luck for them, I guess,” he said.

All 13 party-goers who got caught are due to appear in Cumberland County Unified Court on Oct. 30, Rouse said. He confirmed that the accused had to appear before a judge and not simply pay a fine.

In an unrelated incident, Scarborough police also summonsed five others for underage drinking on Friday, along with an adult for supplying a place to drink.

According to Rouse, a reserve officer contracted by the Prouts Neck Association to patrol their neighborhood exclusively discovered the party in progress on Ferry Road at about 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 23.

“The houses there are all close to the road and he just saw it while driving by,” said Rouse.

Henry P. Wagner, 20, whose given address is a Scarborough post office box, was the only local summonsed. Others cited for consumption of alcohol by a minor were Joseph H. Doyle, 18, of Glastonbury, Conn.; Michael S. Horowicz, 18, of Montclair, N.J.; Christian A. C. Sampson, 20, of Brookline, Mass.; and a female juvenile, 17, of Orlean, Va.

Tully R. Hannan, 22, of West Hartford, Conn., was summonsed for allowing minors to consume liquor.

Copy the Story Link