Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday overturned the conviction of a LaGrange County man who threw a party in July 2006 and was later convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Marlin Hostetler – then 25 – had a party at his home, where he lived with his parents and siblings, when his parents were out of town. About 50 to 200 people eventually came to the party, some of them underage.
Hostetler and others drank alcohol at the party while some drank Pepsi and Red Bull.
The next morning, police arrived to find about 20 vehicles in the driveway and about 50 people sleeping inside the vehicles. One of them was an underage girl who tested positive for alcohol.
Prosecutors charged Hostetler for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was convicted at a bench trial and received a 60-day suspended jail sentence.
The appellate court said the evidence did not show that Hostetler encouraged the girl to drink and that he hadn’t even invited her to the party. Also, she obtained alcohol directly from her boyfriend, who brought his own alcohol and stored it in his truck.
The court ordered the conviction be vacated.
