140 over weekend
By From staff reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Roughly 140 people, mostly UA students, were arrested this weekend for drinking underage at a bar and house party.
The first bust came at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday night when, responding to an anonymous tip, deputies from the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force caught 96 minors consuming alcohol at the Stingray Lounge, 4550 S. Palo Verde Road.
The students had been bussed to the lounge by Wild West Promotions, said Deputy Dawn M. Barkman, spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
All 96 students were charged with minor in possession and released at the scene, Barkman said. The department also reported the incident to the state liquor and licenses agency.
The other bust occurred after Tucson Police Department officers responded to a loud party call around 11 p.m. on Saturday night at a home in the 1200 block of East Weimer Circle, near North Mountain Avenue and East Roger Road.
Officers responding to the scene said that they could hear the noise from the party even though they were parked 250 to 300 feet away, reports stated.
When officers rang the doorbell they said they could hear voices coming from the garage telling others to "shut up."
Officers found nearly 70 people in the residence after being let in by the owner, 40 of whom were cited for minor in possession charges, reports stated. Many of the people cited by the officers said that they were UA students. Police confiscated the keg and issued a red tag for the residence.
The weekend busts are just two in a succession of busts that have occurred during the past six months, part of a campaign to buckle down on underage drinking and community disturbances.
A bus, filled with UA students, was stopped on Oct. 17 by TPD officers. All 36 students on the bus were cited with minor in possession charges.
Sgt. Marco Borboa, TPD spokesman, said the TPD bust this weekend was not about sending a message to underage drinkers.
"These are quality-of-life issues. This was a result of us being responsive," Borboa said. "We try not to address it as narrowly as students getting the message, this is a Tucson community issue."