Adults who allegedly held party accused of aiding and abetting UA drinking
Two adults from the Whiteville, North Carolina area are facing charges for allegedly supplying alcohol to a minor. Authorities claim the 47-year-old and 51-year-old defendants were implicated in supplying alcohol to a 19-year-old Clarkton, North Carolina man who crashed his car May 3 on Shade Fisher Road south of Chadbourn, North Carolina.
A 21-year-old passenger was killed in the car accident. Authorities investigated the accident and initially accused the teenage driver with underage drunk driving. Over the summer, authorities upped the ante against the 19-year-old and added a charge of death by motor vehicle.
The two adults have been more recently brought into criminal court are each accused of aiding and abetting charges. The 47-year-old woman is accused of aiding and abetting underage possession and consumption of alcohol and a count of giving alcohol to a minor. The second defendant faces charges for aiding and abetting underage possession and consumption of alcohol.
Agents from the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement say that the two men involved in the May 3rd crash had attended a party at the home of the two adults who now face the aiding and abetting charges.
North Carolina law provides authorities with a wide variety of options in the state’s efforts to control underage drinking. Not only can teens face direct underage alcohol offenses, including underage drunk driving, but authorities can pursue a wide variety of aiding and abetting type charges. In addition, North Carolina has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to the amount of alcohol needed to pursue underage drinking or underage DUI charges.
This blog has previously reported that criminal charges for anyone over the age of 16 are brought in adult court in North Carolina.
Source: Fayette Observer, “Whiteville-area couple charged with serving alcohol to underage driver involved in fatal wreck,” Deuce Niven, Oct. 13, 2012
Tags: abetting, accused, Adults, Aiding, allegedly, Drinking, Held, Party