Mansfield Ave House Damaged During Large Teen Party with Lots of Alcohol

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Darien police say that when they arrived after getting a number of reports of a large party of teenagers at a house at 480 Mansfield Ave., they found 25 to 30 youths in the driveway, another 50 to 75 in the back yard and another 10 or so in the house.

That totals 85 to 115 or so partygoers — the largest police count for a teenage party with alcohol in recent years.

Police described the incident with this account (including accusations not proven in court);

Some damage was done to the house, with a hole in the sheetrock ceiling of the living room. Police found hundreds red plastic cups, beer containers and liquor in the driveway, in the back yard, in the basement, in the kitchen and living room and in other rooms in the house, including bedrooms.

The house smelled of alcohol. In the basement, table was set up to play beer pong. In a bedroom, police found a water bong with marijuana residue in it. In the kitchen, the table was covered with empty beer cans and the floor was sticky with spilled beer.

The 10 youths and young adults under the legal drinking age who were found inside the home were held until their parents or an older adult came to get them.

The 17-year-old who invited some friends to have a party at the home while his parents were away told police that uninvited teens came over with alcohol and the party got out of hand — in other words, the kind of thing that’s been happening in Darien and elsewhere for more than 50 years.

The boy had called an adult over to help break up the party, and police spoke to the adult, who arrived before they did. The boy’s mother arrived home at 480 Mansfield Ave. after police showed up. She said she knew her child was going to throw a party, but she believed no alcohol would be consumed.

After police youth officers investigated the matter, on the following Monday, Oct. 31, the youth was charged with providing alcohol to minors and was told to appear at a later date in state Juvenile Court in Stamford.

Darien’s Teenage Drinking Parties — in 2016 Alone

Articles on teenage drinking at parties this year:

 

Other 2016 Articles About Teenage Drinking in Darien in 2016

Longstanding Practice: Life Magazine Article from 1963

According to this article in the July 5, 1963 Life magazine (which includes information gathered in lower Fairfield County), party crashing with alcohol had been happening for years, and the New Canaan police chief at the time was warning parents not to let teenagers drink:

Life Magazine Teenage drinking party crasher 4-28-16

From Life magazine, July 5, 1963 (article starts on page 62; right after an article about the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk)