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http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1117753.html
One 14-year-old girl lay sprawled on the basement floor of the Northland house, passed out after chugging vodka.
Her blood alcohol content was 0.218, nearly three times the legal limit.
Five other girls, all 13 or 14, also had been drinking, Platte County authorities said Tuesday as they announced felony charges against two women.
The women - one of them the mother of one of the girls - allegedly supplied liquor and beer for an overnight 14th birthday party Feb. 21 and 22.
Charged Monday with first-degree child endangerment were Karen Christine Downs, 43, the mother of the girl whose birthday was being celebrated, and Kelsee Guest, 25.
"The parents of many of the girls who attended this party were absolutely amazed and devastated that a parent would do this to another child," Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said at a news conference.
The girl who chugged vodka and another girl, 13, who had passed out were taken to a hospital to be checked for alcohol poisoning. Police said they found at least 70 empty beer bottles and empty vodka and bourbon bottles sprinkled throughout the basement.
Downs is accused of offering $10 to whoever could down a glass of vodka fastest, Zahnd said. Guest, a friend of Downs, allegedly poured shots for the girls.
Vicky Ward, who coordinates a Northland community group that works to reduce teen drinking, said at the news conference that "it is time we take a collective stand that underage drinking is not acceptable."
"I think we would be hard pressed to find a responsible adult who would remotely condone underage drinking by a sixth-grader - or even a 13- or 14 year-old," Ward said.
Downs was throwing the party for her 14-year-old daughter at her home in the 1600 block of Northwest 55th Terrace in Kansas City, North. Police officers went to the house after a noise complaint.
According to court records, one 14-year-old girl said Downs and Guest had been drinking. Downs asked the girls if they wanted a drink, and they each had a shot of vodka.
"It just went on from there," the girl told authorities.
Downs told the girls they couldn't say anything to their parents. She also gave her daughter the vodka bottle to see how long she could chug it while another girl counted, according to court documents.
When they ran out of alcohol, Guest allegedly asked the girls whether they had money to buy another bottle. The two women and one of the girls bought more vodka.
One of the girls said she had beer and nine or- 10 shots of vodka, Zahnd said.
Downs was arrested Monday and is being held in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. Guest is being held in lieu of a $20,000 bond. If convicted, they face up to seven years in prison.
Kansas City Police Chief James Corwin said parents should be vigilant and not allow underage teens to consume alcohol or have prom or graduation parties where alcohol is served.
"We want to prevent any senseless tragedies like alcohol poisoning or drunk-driving crashes," Corwin said.
Zahnd said this is the first time his office has filed felony charges against someone accused of providing alcohol to minors. Usually such cases are handled as municipal violations.
Police presented this case to his office, he said, because of the amount of liquor consumed and the ages of the girls.
Teens as young as 14 also attended a New Year's Eve party in Lenexa that led to a charge against a 42-year-old man. John Richard Pendleton is charged with felony drunken driving and the misdemeanor of hosting a juvenile alcohol party.
Police said they found bags full of beer, wine and liquor bottles. They took 21 underage partygoers into custody: Eleven were 18 to 20, four were 17, three were 16, one was 15 and two were 14.
the two moms... (kelsee guest right, karen downs left)
this is sad
