Snapchat Post Leads Police To Underage Drinking Party, Cops Say

If you’re going to be doing something illegal, best not to put it on Snapchat.

A group of teens in South Brunswick learned that lesson the hard way recently.

According to police, the teens went to a closed pizzeria in South Brunswick, where a 17-year-old was hosting an underage drinking party.

One of the teens documented the event - with a Snapchat video, posted as part of a Snapchat Story, according to police.

Snapchat videos do not capture more than 15 seconds of an event, and Snapchat Stories disappear within 24 hours, but police learned about the video while the party was still in progress, authorities said.

Officers shut down the party and charged the 17-year-old who was hosting it inside the closed pizzeria early Friday morning, police said.

“Sometimes we monitor social media and when we monitor social media, we pick up things,’’ said Capt. James Ryan.

According to a news release from Ryan:

Police went to Cafe Colore Pizzeria in the South Brunswick Mall on Route 1 around 1:40 a.m. Friday.

When they arrived at the eatery, which was closed at the time, they saw several juveniles through the window.

The teens quickly turned off the lights, but one of the front doors was propped open, so police went inside.

They found five teenagers in the restaurant and two more who left through a back door.

There was also an open bottle of vodka, and officers determined the teens had been drinking alcohol.

Police determined one of the boys was the host of the party - that 17-year-old had a connection to the restaurant, and he let his friends inside.

That boy was taken into custody and charged with making property available for the underage consumption of alcohol and consumption of alcohol by underage person. He was released to his parents.

The other teens were released to their parents at the scene.

Officer Jason Gassman is continuing the investigation.

The video was part of a Snapchat Story -- groups of images or videos that don’t vanish after the usual 1 to 10 seconds. The stories are available for 24 hours and can be viewed repeatedly during that time frame, police said.