|
(Posted
6:30 a.m., March 14)
Charges
laid after police raid all ages party at Orléans
Bowling Centre
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
Three
youth are facing 22 criminal and drug charges charges
in connection with an all ages March Break party at the
Orléans Bowling Centre in the Taylor Creek Business
Park on Monday.
More
than 6,000 people were invited to the all ages event through
word of mouth and social media, although slightly more
than 200 people showed up.
After
getting tipped off about the party the Ottawa Police assigned
several undercover officers to the event. They road a
shuttle bus to the venue and then monitored the proceedings
before calling in back-up including members of the Alcohol
and Gaming Commission.
Police
seized 25 cans of beer, seceral 40-ounce containers of
vodka, rum and gin, 15 grams of marijuana, MDMA also known
as Ecstasy, and four grams of heroin at the scene.
Besides
the three youth charged with criminal and drug charges,
17 others face alcohol and trespassing offences. Another
20 youth were issued warnings. Dozens of parents were
also called to pick up their kids.
According
to media reports the Bowling Centre owners ooperated with
the police and won't be facing charges.
Co-owner
Jonathan Piche told the Ottawa Sun that the party
was “more like a dance party for kids,” and
shied away from calling it a rave because of the drug
connotations.
About
90 per cent of the partiers were underage -- “nice
and fun people,” he said, though he conceded he’d
be unlikely to host a similar event after all of the drama.
“We
are family oriented and we want to keep that image,”
said Piche.
Event
organizer Matt Michaud said the aim of the party was to
give local kids an opportunity to have fun during the
March Break at an all ages event, something that is very
rare in Orléans.
Despite
the raid, Michaud says he intends to organize another
all ages event in the future, although he willl likely
hire uniformed police officers to beef up ssecurity and
insure it goes off without a hitch.
“We
can apply what we learned for future events,” he
said.
(This
story was made possible thanks to their generous support
of our local business partners.)
Return
to top
Return
to Front Page
|
