Police charge PU students with serving alcohol to minors

A three-month investigation at eating clubs.

By: Jennifer Potash
   Four Princeton University students were issued summonses Tuesday for serving minors alcoholic beverages following a three-month undercover investigation of the Prospect Avenue eating clubs.
   But the charges brought by the Princeton Borough Police Department are not likely to speed a discussion by the Borough Council over a proposed ordinance that would permit police officers to enforce underage drinking laws on private property.
   "There is no plan to bring it back to full council in the near future," said Council President Mildred Trotman. She added the council is awaiting comment from other municipal boards and committees on the ordinance, which was recommended to the borough by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
   The ordinance, like those adopted by Ewing and Lawrence, would allow police, when responding to a complaint or emergency at a residence or private club, to check whether partygoers who are drinking are of legal age.
   Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said this case seems to support the view the ordinance is unnecessary as the police can address the underage drinking problem with existing statutes.
   "We’ll see how we come out on this case," Mayor Reed said.
   Princeton Borough police officers served summonses to the former presidents of Quadrangle Club, Rolando Rene Amaya, 22, and Colonial Club, Christopher G. Langhammer, 22, for allegedly making alcoholic beverages available to a minor and maintaining a nuisance stemming from a Nov. 24 incident.
   Anna Rachel Dray-Siegel, 18, a Colonial Club officer, and Justin J. Mirabal, 22, both bartenders at Colonial Club on Nov. 24, were issued summonses for serving alcoholic beverages to a minor.
   Princeton Borough Police Chief Charles Davall said he was very concerned with potential illegal drug activity as well as lax efforts to prevent underage drinking in the private clubs located along Prospect Avenue.
   In 2001, when Chief Davall was a police captain, he said the department may use undercover officers to crack down on drinking violations in the clubs.
   But this investigation is more about "taking advantage of an opportunity," than following through on that earlier statement, Chief Davall said.
   A Princeton Borough Police officer went undercover and sought to gain admission to all the Prospect Avenue eating clubs to check for underage drinking violations beginning in November, Chief Davall said.
   "We did not target specific clubs," he said. "It was really a fishing expedition."
   The chief would not say if more charges would be filed against eating club members. "The investigation could continue," he said.
   There have been no alcohol-related deaths at the clubs or university campus, Chief Davall said, but several serious injuries and attacks stemmed from alcohol abuse.
   One inebriated student fell down a fire escape and, in an attempt to prevent the fall, amputated a finger on a sharp piece of metal, the chief said. Alcohol also seems to have played a role in two sexual assaults last year, he said.
   The current charges are disorderly persons offenses so the students were not arrested, Chief Davall said.
   Mr. Langhammer referred questions to his attorney, Kim Otis, who did not return calls seeking comment.
   Mr. Amaya did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment and a male who answered the phone listed in Mr. Amaya’s name said it was the wrong number.
   Eating club officers were reluctant to speak to reporters.
   One officer of Cottage Club, who declined to give her name, said she was under orders by the club president and other club governing bodies not to comment.
   The university will conduct an investigation and the students may also face disciplinary action, said Lauren Robinson-Brown, spokeswoman for the university.
   "We are working diligently to make sure our students understand serving alcohol to the under-aged is a serious violation of the law," she said.
   Princeton University Director of Public Safety Steven Healey said the department’s proctors do respond to emergencies at the off-campus clubs but do not conduct any enforcement in the clubs. But that policy may change, he said.
   "I believe there are a number of conversations on campus right now about the appropriate level of enforcement with the clubs," said Mr. Healey, who started his job Jan. 6.
   All four students are slated to appear Feb. 17 in Princeton Borough Municipal Court.
   If convicted of disorderly persons charges, the students face a maximum $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail.
   This past week marked the start of the "Bicker" period in which Princeton University sophomores and juniors participate in the selection process of five of the 12 eating clubs.
Special Writer Amy Sennett contributed to this article.