Charges have been dismissed against a Lookout Mountain, Tn., couple who had faced counts of reckless endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with a party at their home that involved teen drinking.
Prosecutor Andrew Coyle said there was no proof that William Clee Haisten III and his wife, Marcella Caruso Haisten, provided any alcohol to the youths.
He said actions of the Lookout Mountain, Tn., Police "probably saved some lives that night," but he said investigation of the case led him to conclude that the state would not be likely to gain convictions.
The incident in late February at the Haisent home resulted in two youths being transported to the hospital.
Police said several 16-year-olds were heavily intoxicated at the Fort Stephenson Place residence and a boy was nearly unconscious.
An ambulance was summoned to the scene.
General Sessions Court Judge Tori Smith told the couple she hoped they had learned a lesson from the incident.
The judge cautioned them that "nothing pseudo-like this should ever happen again."
Attorneys for the couple were Bryan Hoss and Chris Poole.
Attorney Hoss earlier termed the arrests as "absolutely outrageous."
He earlier gave this account, "This past Saturday night, Will and Marcie Haisten allowed their son to invite a certain group of students over to their house on Lookout Mountain after a school dance. As any parent would do, they had their son text each invited guest and specifically told them to not bring alcohol.
"After the dance, the students started arriving at the Haisten residence around 10:20 p.m. Both Will and Marcie greeted most of the students to make sure they didn't bring any alcohol into their home. Unfortunately, there were other students who saw the location of this group on Instagram and came to their house uninvited. Several of those were sent home. Three of those students, we have learned, consumed alcohol well before ever arriving to the Haisten residence. Some of the uninvited students snuck in through a back door.
"At no point did the Haistens ever provide alcohol to the students. They did not allow them to drink. Nor did they turn a blind eye. They were proactive and made attempts to prevent the kids from drinking both before the kids arrived and while they were arriving. They made direct contact with most students to make sure they didn't have a backpack, a water bottle, or anything else that may contain alcohol.
"Unbeknownst to the Haistens, some of the kids had alcohol in their vehicles. Others, including a Baylor School student, hid alcohol in a backpack across the street from the Haisten residence.
"When police arrived, the Haistens cooperated fully. They were polite and respectful. The police did not find any alcohol in the Haisten residence to indicate that the kids were drinking inside.
"We've identified three students who had consumed alcohol before ever arriving. Two of those were boarders. Because they did not have parents who were local, the only option given by the Lookout Moutain Police Department was to take them to the local hospital. That was LMPD's decision and their decision alone.
"The Haistens immediately notified McCallie who acted quickly and made the necessary arrangements. Both boys were back at McCallie by 4 a.m. They are fine. More importantly, both boys have since written apology letters to the Haistens about their unfortunate decisions that night which happened well before they ever arrived up on Lookout.
"My clients are adamant that they did nothing wrong. I find it deeply troubling that the LMPD arrested the Haistens over these circumstances. The LMPD used to issue misdemeanor citations, and now, they are using full scale arrests of parents. This is unfathomable. We have advised the local DA's office that the Haistens are an open book, are willing to fully cooperate and have nothing to hide. We will be asking the Court to dismiss the charges on Monday."
A Lookout Mountain, Tn., officer said he was out patrolling the Fort Stephenson area that Saturday around 11:45 p.m. when he saw a large number of vehicles on both sides of the road. He said it became a concern whether a fire truck would be able to make it down the road.
The officer said he found that the right side of the road was completely filled up with vehicles with two vehicles obstructing the oncoming lane of traffic so that a fire truck would not have been able to get through.
The officer said he came upon a juvenile coming from 156 Fort Stephenson Place. He said he asked the teen if he could locate the host of the party. He said he returned with William Haisten.
The officer said Mr. Haisten walked with them surveying the multiple cars along the road.
He said at the end of the Haisten driveway he noticed a closed can of Miller Lite and then saw an identical one further down the road. Mr. Haisten said his son had assured him there would be no drinking at the party.
The officer said, due not to be able to identify who had used the cans, he emptied the two cans in the yard and gave them to Mr. Haisten to throw away.
He said he and another officer then saw multiple cans of alcohol on the back of a black Ford F-150 truck. He said there were 4-5 cans as well as a small glass liquor bottle - all empty on the bumper.
The officer said they found multiple empty cans in the wood line next to the pickup by the vehicle. There was also a red backpack lying open with numerous empty alcohol cans and liquor bottles next to an adjacent white Toyota 4Runner.
A teen then walked up, saying he was the owner of the F-150. He said he did not know who the cans and bottles belonged to.
The officer said, "This piqued our interest as to what this party of juveniles may be involving."
He said they then saw a teen walk from the party stumbling from side to side along the road and unable to keep his balance. About this time, multiple youths began to leave the house and head toward the vehicles.
The officer said the youth who was stumbling began to vomit on the road and on himself. The officer said the teen was heavily intoxicated so he immediately requested a med unit to come to the scene. One youth helped the officers to tend to the teen who was throwing up.
Officers spoke with as many youths as they could as they left the party en masse, and they all gave their ages as 16.
The officers said they checked out teens from the party on whether it appeared they were in shape to drive. They were each limited to one passenger based on their restricted drivers licenses.
A police captain was also summoned to the scene, and he was told by a group of juveniles that they had been drinking at the party.
It was told to the officers that the cans and bottles on the F-150 belonged to a female who was passed out on a couch in the home. Police then went into the house and found Marcella Haisten tending to the girl on the couch in a downstairs area of the home. The girl's mother then came and said she would get medical care for her.
The police captain then located a male juvenile who was nearly unconscious next to a fire burn pit in the back yard. A medic began tending to him, while another worked with the youth who had been stumbling in the road. Both teens were transported to Children's Hospital.
Police said while at the hospital the academic dean of McCallie School, Chris Carpenter, arrived and confirmed the boys were McCallie boarding students. Custody of the two boys was turned over to Mr. Carpenter.
Police said based on the evidence at the scene that the Haistens "were fully aware of the juveniles' alcohol consumption and contributing to the delinquency of all attending minors. These actions contributed to the reckless endangerment of all attendees and especially those of which had to be transported to the hospital."