An Ounce Of Marijuana Gets 60 Partygoers Arrested
Sixty people attending a lingerie-themed house party in Georgia on New Year’s Eve were arrested and charged with possessing marijuana after one ounce of weed was found at the party.
A press release by the Bartow Cartersville Drug Task Force reported that the police responded to reports of gunfire in the early hours of morning at an apartment close to the house where the party was taking place. The authorities reportedly smelled marijuana and saw partygoers fleeing the scene. When they entered the house, they found marijuana which was plainly visible and a semi-automatic handgun.
When no one at the party claimed the marijuana, 60 people, including four minors were arrested, because the marijuana “was within everyone’s reach."
Police then called in the county’s drug task force to assist in the investigation and said they found another gun at the scene, which was stolen in Detroit, as well as “several smoking devices” and “suspected cocaine.”
The birthday party, held at a home rented through AirBnb, advertised Jell-O shots, beer pong and “strip twister,” according to an invitation obtained by NBC affiliate WXIA.
Those who were arrested were between 15 years to 31 years old and were issued a bond amount Monday of $1,000. According to WSB-TV, some of those held by the police remained so through Tuesday before posting bond.
At the time of the arrests, one of the parents of those who were arrested, Monesha Fezzia , told Fox affiliate WTVT: "We just want our babies; they aren't telling us anything. If that's the case charge them, let them make their bond, have our kids and we will have our day in court. This process is being dragged out for too long.”
Many of those who were arrested claim they were mistreated by police, WSB-TV said. In an interview they claimed they were tied up with zip ties, threatened with tasers and hauled off to jail.
"I was told we were just being detained; one of the officers said we’re putting you in a van to keep y’all warm," said Austen Davis.
Another person who was pregnant said she was verbally abused. "I was throwing up water," she said. "The whole saying 'innocent until proven guilty' went out the window. They told me I was an unfit person to have a baby."
The Georgia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it would conduct an investigation into the arrests on behalf of all the young people arrested irrespective of whether they were black or white.
In a statement reported by BuzzFeed, Cartersville police said the drug task force was called onto the scene because of a long-standing policy — which was now under review.
"It has been a long-standing policy of the Cartersville Police Department that drug investigations routine patrol officers encounter are referred to the Bartow Cartersville Drug Task Force," police said in a statement. "This current policy is now under review for any further drug investigations."
“A good majority of these individuals are college students and members of the US military who were visiting home over the holiday break...Others were working citizens who lost their jobs the second they walked into work this morning,” according to Racquel McGee of the Fulton County Public Defender's Office, who was cited by the New York Daily News. She also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for bail and other legal fees.
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