35 arrested after police bust rowdy graduation party

YELM -- A bevy of teens and young adults were arrested for allegedly boozing at a Yelm graduation and birthday party.

Neighbors alerted Yelm police and Target Zero Party Intervention Patrol, a multi-agency effort aimed at stopping young drivers who are at a greater risk of being involved in a crash, to a large birthday/graduation party Saturday night at a home outside Yelm.

When officers arrived they allegedly found 60 current and former students of Yelm High School partying on the property. Police said kegs, hard alcohol bottles and evidence of drinking games were scattered throughout the yard.

Of the party-goers who had consumed alcohol, police found that seven were between the ages 16-17, and 26 were between 18-20. One 19-year-old even had a blood alcohol level of .174, twice the legal limit for any adult to drive.

Police also arrested the birthday boy's mother, a 45-year-old woman, and a 21-year-old man who allegedly bought the keg.

All-in-all, 35 people were arrested at the party, many of which were planning to drive home, police said.

"There was no doubt that some of these kids were going to drive home that night," Thurston County Target Zero Manger Jerry Noviello said.

All of the children arrested were taken to a Public Health and Social Services Office where they met one-on-one with a licensed chemical dependency professional, police said.

It is unknown if the teens, young adults or adults will face any criminal charges.