North Kingstown Woman Charged for Social Host Violation

A 51-year-old North Kingstown woman has been charged with producing alcohol for minors after a party at her Pinecrest Drive house on Saturday during which a teenager was sent to the hospital with a .276 blood alcohol reading.

Police said Sharon Louise Burt, 51, of 219 Pinecrest Drive told police she was upstairs in her room during the party and didn’t see any alcohol when she checked on the children three times.

Police said they were dispatched to the street at around 10:22 p.m. for a report of four males walking down the street after parking in front of a neighbor’s house.

Upon arrival, police saw numerous cars parked on both sides of Pinecrest Drive, making travel difficult. Juveniles inside the house saw police coming and began running into the woods, police said.

Inside the house, according to a police report, were numerous juveniles who appeared drunk. The house had a “strong odor of beer” and there were red drinking cups scattered throughout the living room, kitchen and back sunroom.

Police also saw cans of Busch beer and a beer pong setup on the first floor, two wine bottles and a glass smoking pipe in an upstairs bedroom and numerous cans of Bud Light beer, Busch Beer and a bottle of vodka in the back yard. A 30-pack of BUsch beer was found under a boat in the side yard.

Burt, according to police, said that she let her daughter have some friends over for a birthday party. She said several juveniles came over at around 9:15 p.m. and she went upstairs.

She reportedly said she’d never let juveniles consume alcohol at her house and was reportedly in the shower when police arrived at the party.

“I advised Sharon of the many solo cups that contained beer throughout her home,” a police report stated. “[Burt] stated that she did not observe any drinking in her home and the only room she did not check was the back sunroom, because she did not want to bother her daughter.”

One juvenile female was sent to the hospital after she showed signs of being severely intoxicated and registered a .276 on a breathalyzer at the scene, police said.

The juvenile daughter said that she was given a water bottle filled with vodka that she drank through the night but refused to identify the person who gave it to her.

She said that a few friends came by at 9:15 p.m. and a short time later, several uninvited friends came over. After that, she “began to observe red solo cups in people’s hands.”

She ”further explained that she did not know that people were consuming alcohol because she didn’t know what beer smells like.”

Someone else later brought jello shots and a bottle of vodka and once the party became too big, she asked people to leave, police said. That was when police arrived.

The parents of all the juveniles who attended the party were notified.

Burt is due to appear in Third Division District Court on Feb. 24.