23 Youth Summonsed for Underage Drinking

Twenty-three minors will be summonsed to court for possessing alcohol at a Pine Street party Friday night.

A resident at the first-floor apartment at 58 Pine St, Rocky Benedetto, 18, is one of those youth being summonsed, Chief Ron Madigan said.

In addition, Benedetto will be charged with allowing underage drinking at the apartment, the police chief said.

Friday night at 9:10 police officers Brendan Reen and Michael Frayler responded to a report of a loud party and possible underage drinking at the residence, the chief said.

When they arrived they heard loud music and saw young people who appeared to be under 21 years of age drinking from beer cans and red cups, Madigan said.

A majority of the youth were from Swampscott but some were also from Nahant, the chief said. It appears the party was attended by high school kids.

In a situation like this police notify the minors’ parents of the incident and make sure that no one leaves the party under the influence, the chief said.

Two programs that are available to young people summoned for these kinds of offenses are youth and juvenile diversion programs, he said.

These are alternatives to court prosecution and typically involve counseling and community service, he said.

The alternatives take place before the cases move ahead in the court system so the youth and juveniles do not have a criminal record, he said.

The youth will also be subject to action under the school systems’ chemical health policy if they participate in sports, music or other extracurricular activities at school.