16-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To DUI
In Plea Court yesterday [Feb.29], two school students faced traffic offences including a 16-year-old who pleaded guilty to riding whilst impaired, admitting he had been drinking “Chivas and shots.”
A 15-year-old female student was facing a charge of riding whilst disqualified. However, because she was under sixteen, it was ruled that she had to face trial in Juvenile or Family Court.
Her case was sent back to be tried in Family Court. She was granted $300 bail and her parents were required to sign for her.
A 16-year-old student faced a charge of riding whilst impaired. He pleaded guilty, saying that he had been drinking “Chivas and shots” at a party and had left the party to ride home. Patrolling police observed him swerving through Flatt’s Village and finally stopped him by drawing alongside him in their patrol car.
The Senior Magistrate spent several minutes seeking a punishment that would be an alternate to the standard punishment of $1,000 fine and twelve month disqualification. The Magistrate commented that because this was a first offence and the teenager was so young, he would prefer a different answer but that it seemed that his hands were tied.
Further commenting that parents needed to exercise more control and be more aware of what their children were up to. Magistrate Warner then handed down the standard punishment of a $1,000 fine and the mandatory twelve month disqualification from all vehicles
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The people who hosted the party and allowed booze to be consumed by a minor should be held accountable.
Bad decisions equal bad consequences
It’s not up to the individuals who hosted the party to know how old everyone is. First and foremost the individual knows they are underage and that they shouldn’t be drinking. Also, it’s so many people that drink underage that they should be aware that its a norm. Its not like the people that hosted the party probably didn’t have other drinks available.
So don’t blame it on the individuals who hosted the the party. Blame the individual that decided to drink the alcohol underage.
@i twas their choice. I have to disagree strongly. If this was the USA the hosts of that party would in all likelyhood face charges as a result of this. We as a community have to start taking this seriously instead of some joke or right of passage. There is a reason that people under age are called minors – they cannot be left with all the decisions to themselves. I repeat, the host of that party should be held responsible. I certainly hope they are!
@Rice Cakes. You sound like one of those people who always say it’s someone else’s fault, it can’t ever be the sole fault of the individual. Get real and teach your family that they and they alone are responsible for what they ingest.
Yes mate – you are completely stupid. Minors should not be left alone in a house with booze. You are obviously young and stupid. Grow up.
@ It was their choice: if my child holds a party in my house, I would hope I get to meet everyone who comes through the door. If my child is likely to have friends who are under 18 there, any alcohol in my house (which there normally isn’t) would be placed in my bedroom, which I consider out of bounds. I would also be at home as a chaperone, because teenagers, whether or not they THINK they are adults, are not mature enough to be left alone. Not only would no child get drunk in my house, no child would get raped (which can happen when teens are left unsupervised and even more so when alcohol is involved.
Despite the general move toward holding children responsible for committing adult crimes, scans of teenage brains show clearly that there is a difference between their brains and those of an adult. The brain in not fully mature until as late as 25. Teens are not always capable of making the best decisions or understanding consequences, and adults need to support them, not drop them in the soup. This also means setting a good example.
I am not saying that young man should get off scot free, because he needs to learn that there is a consequence for every behaviour. I am saying that there should have been responsible adults at that party he was attending who should have made sure there was no alcohol there. At the very least, they should not have let him ride off drunk. If we are holding bartenders responsible for their clients, why shouldn’t we hold the parents of the person who was having the party responsible. Surely they have a greater stake in what happens to their kids’ friends – or is it only when money is involved that people are held responsible?
Well said Pastor Syl. In order to change our culture of underage drinking a comprehensive approach is necessary. I’d like to add that mandatory drug counseling for minors and community service in an area that re-emphsises the message is also necessary. Do we have this requirements by the courts? If not, certainly this is needed in the updating of the legislation.
@ Rice Cakes. I agree. He and his parents should go for AA meetings and parenting classes.
Well said…
How you know if the parents drink at all that child has been given the power of choice they knew what they were doing
this is the guy that got caught
i dnt drink on a regular so idk y ur tlkin about AA meeting
with our drinking culture who could be surprised?
its attitudes like yours that these children mirror. Whether you think it is our culture or not, it is a serious charge for a 16 y/o, but more important that teen needs intervention! We can’t just throw our hands up in the air and say “Oh Well”, we all should be very concerned.In a couple of years he could be impaired and behind the a steering wheel. I hope you don’t have to eat those words someday….
Chivas?! Man when I was 16 I could barely afford 2 six packs of Elephants!
Hah! Did you really need TWO six packs of Elephants to get hot when you were sixteen?!!!
LOL I didn’t need two sixes to get hot, but I still drank all of them!
And you’re proud of that?
@ yes mate, u n i wer in the same boat, n had lots of fun drinking em 2!!
@ Yes Mate!: You were lucky at 16 you didn’t end up with alcohol poisoning. I wonder how much you drink today. The statistics are that the younger you start, the more likely you are to develop an addiction. And yes, alcohol IS a drug!
You people really live in fairy tale world. This happens every weekend. Teenagers under 18 want to fit in with the older crowd period and people allow it. We’re not in the USA we’re in Bermuda. If they wanna drink and get drunk let em..they’ll learn the hard way.
I’m betting that party was at your house…..
GET REAL is actually stating the truth. I don’t understand why people are so surprised. I’ve seen on Facebook kids that are no older than 12 holding up bottles of Chivas and Hennessy like it is a glass of Kool-Aid. It is absolutely nothing new. And not all the time you can blame the person who hosted the party. Kids are quite smart you know. They find some way to smuggle alcohol or drugs in.
People just need to stop being so oblivious and realize that generations change and today’s world is nothing like the old days.
If they smuggled in Alcohol then that party was not monitored properly…Adults need to be more vigilant..stop trying to sugar coat the situation…and making excuses..
First of all, why is everyone jumping to the conclusion that an adult hosted this party? These party teens could have easily got their alcohol from a alcohol store. I’m 19, And not once since I’ve been considered legal age have I been asked for ID when purchasing alcohol. Which I find quite ridiculous. He could have also went to a club party. Club owners are quite strict now days when it comes to ID. But that don’t stop the underage people when they got a fake ID! The amount of fake IDs being sold on this island is quite crazy. And lets not mention how well PhotoShop, a card printer and a laminator goes together! Oh and TCD, shame on you! You are forever screwing up people’s birthdays on their drivers license!!! LMAO!
If the people in the community of Bermuda want to stop the stupidness going on around. You need to quit acting like you know it all about the youngsters! The reality is, you have no idea! And for you parents that think your kid is a saint….POOR YOU!!!! YOU ARE A PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!! Stop being oblivious! Don’t be scared to ask them if they smoked a spliff today, or have they ever tried a WKD or 2. Or even when was the last time they had sex. Trust me, majority of the kids/teens/young adults are involved in some sort of wrong doing…. some worst then others. GET INVOLVED PEOPLE!!!
That is true….my lil cousins are able to get booze themselves. Stores like the Phoenix actually had wine bottles and stuff out right in the open around the holidays…very easy for a kid to steal. Our community stores needs to tighten up on this end too!
What old days are you talking about? Sodom and Gomorrow? Or the many good old days of drunken orgies mentioned in the Bible? Nothing is new.
Get Real: your missing the point, yes they can drink and get drunk but do not go on the public highway where you can hurt yourself or some one else…
The 16 year old also needs to be on a court ordered curfew during that 1 year off the road.
f*** all u haters i bet all u guys drank under age
As a parent of two teenage sons we as parents in the home have to talk to and educate. I feel it is my duty as a parent to have dialogue with my children on a regular basis about things they are/will be exposed to. I feel that it is both up to the individual and the party hosts to be responsible. Its not an easy world out there but my oldest who is 18 and on a bike knows the consequences of drink/driving!
There is a law in the US about giving alcohol to minors.. If do believe we have one to..So the people hosting the party be they adults should be held accountable. Note: in the US if some one was injured as a result of some one being drunk the person supplying the alcohol can be held liable…
Am I the only one that notices that a 15-year-old female student was facing a charge of riding whilst disqualified??? How is that even possible???
I could not understand that either. Perhaps it is not her first time being caught? Who knows…
We as adults set double standards. Many of us have our private bar at home. The stuff is legal. Under aged or not, our children live what they learn. Alcohol is the biggest known killer and destroyer of homes but it is legal. And please do not for a moment believe that every one has a drink now and then. Make parents accountable, that way we would be more vigilante and monitor our children.
Maybe whoever issued the licence thought she was 51 instead of 15.It happens, look at some of our roadsigns and the logos on some gov’t vehicles.
ummmmmm
she not qualifed.????????? plan and f$#king simple
She was disquallified by reason of her age.
whats the fuss alcaohol is legal get rid of it all together but you all are full of it
this is silly……if the individual had killed someone i wonder what the cry would have been then and i am sure the question would arise as to who hosted the party. bars have to comply…so should we have to make sure that a duty of care attitude is applied to private functions. i sure as heck would feel guilty if a minor was known to have left my house and died or killed someone due to any form of negligence.
LOL d yutes ah go on maaaddddd yazeeit. Simple ting dem. Chivas ah run pon di EastSide yah kno dhat
f*** east but kno dhat braa!!!
first of all the fifteen year old did not have a license i know that for a fact however i know her whole situation got messed up seriously you people need to stop assuming stuff and then comment when you know the actual facts about her story! it was a stupid mistake and im sure you all made them when you were younger and she had to learn the hard way!but i know she has learned her lesson!