Potomac Party Host Pleads Guilty in Teen Drinking Case

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Potomac man who hosted an underage drinking party at his house – and where a teenage driver drank before a crash killed two of his friends – has pleaded guilty to two charges.

Kenneth Jay Saltzman, 49, pleaded guilty Thursday to furnishing alcohol to a minor. According to online court records, he was fined $2,500 for each criminal count.

Prosecutors say Saltzman held the June 25 party, which was attended by Samuel Ellis, the former star quarterback at Thomas S. Wootton High School. Ellis, of North Potomac, was the driver in a crash that killed two classmates and injured another.

His car left the road, struck a tree and flipped over, killing Alexander Murk, 18, of Potomac and Calvin Jia-Xing Li, 18, of Rockville. At the accident scene, police found alcohol from the party, still cold.

While Saltzman received the maximum penalty, prosecutors said Maryland law should be amended to allow harsher punishment for such crimes.

“Until the law is amended to include some criminal liability, jail time and/or increased or enhanced fines when people are injured or killed as a result of someone providing alcohol or allowing it to be consumed on their premises, this will be the extent of the penalty for this particular case, under the current statutes. This office supports any legislative effort that would attach a possible prison sentence when a death results from a furnishing violation,” Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, told WTOP.

SEE ALSO:

• ‘This Must Stop’: Principal Tells Parents Hosting Teen Drinking Parties
• Teens Attended Underage Drinking Party Before Deadly Crash, Police Say (Updated)
• ‘It’s a Parent’s Worst Nightmare,’ Says Father of Teen Killed in Crash

Ellis was charged in November with vehicular manslaughter and homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence, according to Maryland court records.

If found guilty, he could serve up to 33 years in prison under Maryland law.

Ellis was charged with two counts each of vehicular manslaughter and homicide by motor vehicle along with another count for causing life-threatening injuries while operating a vehicle intoxicated.