17 teenagers are facing alcohol related charges after attending a party in February where 18 year old Brock Franklin (R) was drinking. Franklin left the party and caused a fatal accident while driving drunk. Franklin was charged in March with two counts of second-degree murder. Franklin was driving the wrong way on Interstate 485 when he struck the vehicle of Richard Bryant, 22, and Eddel Rivera, 23, during the early morning hours of Feb. 18. Bryant and Rivera did not survive the crash.
13 of the teenagers are charged with underage drinking and 4 of the teens were charged with more serious crimes:
Derrick Greene, 18, (L) is charged with 20 misdemeanor counts for purchasing the alcohol. Greene is the one who threw the party at a family townhouse.
Peter Demas, 18, (R) is accused of helping to supply the alcohol. He faces 18 charges.
Adam Shayeb, 17, (L) faces three charges related to drugs and alcohol.
Meredith Sykes, 17, (R) faces nine alcohol-related charges.News 14 Carolina gives more details in this article:
Demas and Greene turned themselves in Friday morning. Demas posted bail, but Greene was still at the Mecklenburg County Jail early Saturday. Both are scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Word of Friday’s arrests quickly spread to Myers Park High School, where Franklin and Demas were seniors.
“I can’t even imagine what he’s going through because Peter is such a sweet person and Brock is a sweet person, and they’re two people who would never hurt anybody,” student Denishie Allen said.
Allen’s sister, Demisha, said, “I think this is a big eye-opener for everybody to really understand the severity of it.”
Of the 13 teenagers accused of underage drinking, 11 will be issued citations for underage possession of malt beverages. The other two will be issued juvenile petitions because they are only 15 years old.