N.J. Couple Accused Of Providing Alcohol, Marijuana To Middle Schoolers At Party
LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A New Jersey couple is accused of giving alcohol and pot to middle schoolers at a party.
As CBS 2's Sonia Rincon reported, Tammy and Brian Smith are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and six counts of providing alcohol to minors.
They refused to speak to CBS 2 about what happened over the weekend.
Lacey Township police say the couple was hosting a party at their house over the weekend with their middle school aged daughter and her friends, involving at least 8 youths.
When a mother came to pick up her daughter and found her so drunk and sick she needed to go to the hospital, she called the police.
When police got to the home, they say they found several middle school aged children, 13 and 14, clearly intoxicated.
Police called the parents of each juvenile, who picked them up at police headquarters.
Authorities say their investigation found the parents were giving the children vodka, Fireball whiskey and teaching the children to smoke marijuana from a bong.
Neighbor Tom Rickmers said the party wasn't a noisy one and was surprised when he heard about the charges.
"I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it," Rickmers said.
He and other neighbors wonder if it's all a misunderstanding.
"They're good people, they would never do anything like this," he said.
Someone claiming to be the couple's teenage son defended them in online posts claiming they never touched marijuana that night or knew it was there.
However, police have also charged the Smiths with possession of drug paraphernalia.
The state's division of child protection has launched an investigation as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, which will determine whether the two will face more charges.
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