Teen Drinking Party Host to be Charged as Adult

A Portsmouth teen who hosted what police described as a wild underage drinking party over the weekend will be arraigned later this month as an adult and could face a fine of up to $1,000.

Portsmouth Police Sgt. Kuffer Kaltenborn, who was one of several police officers who responded to the incident on Saturday at 245 Highland St., said Timothy Battye, 16, of that address was the only person arrested. He will be arraigned on a Class B misdemeanor charge of facilitating an underage drinking party on March 18 in Portsmouth Circuit Court.

Kaltenborn said Battye's parents were literally out of the country and did not know that their son decided to host the party that had as many as 40 to 50 teens when police arrived. He said Battye's parents will not be charged. He said police detained 20 to 22 people and most of them were released into the custody of their parents.

While some police officers said they smelled marijuana, Kaltenborn said no one was arrested for any drug offenses and no drugs were seized. He said police surrounded the home and to ensure the safety of the all the minors who were there. He said all of the teens were cooperative. "We were able to decommission the party in two and a half hours," he said.

According to the Portsmouth Police log, police officers received an anonymous tip on the Seacoast Crime Stoppers crimeline that there was a large house party going on. Kaltenborn said that usually when police find out about an underage party, it is because the participants are being very noisy and there is a lot of activity and a neighbor calls in a complaint. He said he has not seen too many underage drinking parties reported via the Seacoast Crime Stoppers.

Anyone who wishes to report an underage drinking party or any other crime, can contact Seacoast Crime Stoppers at 603-431-1199. They can also leave a tip at seacoastcrimestoppers.org or text your anonymous tip to CRIMES (274637) with the letters "TIPSCS". If an individual's tip leads to indictment of these individuals, that person could be eligible for $1,000 cash reward.