5 Arrested, Age 15-21, at Oak Bluffs Party

Five young people, three under 18, were taken into custody in Oak Bluffs over the weekend on charges that included violating the town’s noise bylaw, keeping a disorderly house, furnishing alcohol to minors, intimidation of a witness, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to documents on file at Edgartown District Court.

‘It’s the police, don’t open the door’

A noise complaint in the early hours of Sunday, June 9 drew Oak Bluffs police to a home at the end of a long, wooded driveway on Worcester Avenue at about 1:45 a.m., according to a police report by officer Timothy Millerick.

Hearing a loud party in progress, Millerick drove down the driveway to the house and saw people running through the back yard, he wrote.

“Some ran into the house and locked the door,” after which he called for more police and knocked on the door, Millerick continued:

 “The noise of the house grew louder and I could hear people running around in the house and say(ing) ‘It’s the police, don’t open the door,’” he wrote. 

Talkative guest, friend arrested

At the same time, a partygoer outside the house, identified as 20-year-old Ryan Dunbar, repeatedly told Millerick he had “no right to be here” on private property, Millerick wrote.

As three more officers arrived, “Dunbar continued to state his opinion and after he was given several warnings to stop talking, he was placed under arrest for Town By-Law – Noise Violation” and handcuffed, Millerick reported.

A 21-year-old guest was next to be arrested, Millerick wrote:

“While we placed Dunbar under arrest his friend Aaron Bezahler came out and was asking why we arrested his friend, and (saying) that we had no right,” Millerick’s report continues.

“He was told several times we don’t have to tell him anything about Dunbar’s crime and to walk away. At this time Bezahler continued to impede a police investigation and was placed under arrest for TBL-NV.”

The party continued to “get out of control,” Millerick wrote, and another officer radioed for a second back-up unit.

'Just a small get together'

After about 15 or 20 minutes, the police report continues, a 17-year-old girl stepped outside the house and identified herself as its caretaker, saying she was having “just a small get together” that “was supposed to just be a girls sleep over but they invited all these guys.”

The teenager was “very uncooperative and stated she didn’t know the cops were here and that’s why she didn’t answer the door,” Millerick wrote.

She was arrested for keeping a disorderly house and furnishing liquor to persons under 21, and consented to police entering the place, Millerick continued.

“Officer Mendez and myself went into the the residence in which we found people hiding in the bathrooms (and) in the attic loft,” he wrote. About 30 people were at the party, he reported.

Police also found a bottle of Southern Comfort, American Honey and a 12-pack of Budweiser cans, all of which had been consumed but still had some remaining alcohol, Millerick reported.

One 15-year-old guest left the party by running into the woods, where Millerick chased him, caught him and after a struggle searched him, finding a knife, a marijuana grinder and a cell phone in his pockets and a scale and two bags of marijuana in his knapsack, the report continues.

As the 15-year-old struggled with Millerick, screaming that police were beating him and wouldn’t let him call his mother, a 17-year-old joined the fray, shoving the officer, Millerick wrote.

The 17-year-old was arrested for intimidating a witness and disorderly conduct; the 15-year-old was arrested for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, according to the police report.

Most of the other party guests were permitted to leave on foot or with a sober driver, Millerick wrote. 

The 17-year-old female suspect was arraigned in Edgartown District Court June 10 with a pretrial hearing scheduled for July 18; the other two teenagers and the older suspects Dunbar and Bezahler face arraignment July 18, according to court documents.

Where arrests and charges are mentioned, they do not indicate convictions.

For more police and court news on and off the Vineyard, please see our Police & Fire section, available in the News tab above or by clicking here.

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