Teen given beer, mom wants action

WASILLA - A local mother of five is asking some hard questions about a Saturday incident where an adult gave her 14-year-old son four beers in 30 minutes while attending an event at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

Heather Vest brought her concerns to the Wasilla City Council Monday, saying her son, who she admits looks older than his age, was encouraged by an adult male to sneak into a 21-and-older benefit concert and was then served alcohol by the man.

"I take my children there because it's a safe place. It's always been that way," Vest said. "I had no idea this dance was happening, otherwise I would not have taken five children there."

Vest keeps score for adult hockey games played at the sports center, she said.

On Saturday, the facility also hosted a benefit concert sponsored by Country Legends radio and Alaska's Healing Hearts, a veterans support organization, said James Hastings, the city's Recreation and Cultural Services manager. The concert featured three bands and was attended by about 600 people, and beer was served.

While Vest and her other children were at the hockey games, her 14-year-old son was approached by someone who "thought it would be a challenge to get him into the dance," she said.

Her son was allowed to enter, and at one point was intentionally overlooked by an alleged off-duty police officer, Vest said.

"There was a lady with them. I understand she was a cop," she said. "She said the gentleman's name, she said, ‘I'm going to turn my back on this.' ... So she walked away. I want to find out who this (alleged) cop was."

If there were an off-duty female police officer at the event, she isn't a member of the Wasilla Police Department, said WPD Chief Gene Belden, adding the suspect who served the boy alcohol has been identified, but won't be named until formal charges are filed.

"We actually know who it was, but we haven't made contact with the guy," he said. "We still have a few things to do to get to that stage of the game."

The description of the female also doesn't fit any of his officers, Belden said.

"The police officer this young gentleman described is a far cry from any of the police officers we have here," he said.

Vest said she didn't know her son had been served beer until they returned home that evening. She said he was acting strangely, so she jokingly asked if he'd been drinking. To her surprise, she learned he had.

Vest said she's angry because her son was not only allowed into an adult event, but was able to consume alcohol there as well.

"Nobody looked ... (and) the man kept serving him beers," she said. "He had four in 30 minutes, the first time he ever drank in his life. Why he did it, I have no idea. The gentleman's been identified, but my point is how is it so easy for a 14-year-old to get in there?"

It's something that absolutely "shouldn't have happened," Belden said, adding an investigation is continuing.

For the city, the incident raises questions about how multiple events are handled at the sports center, and some on the city council questioned whether the facility should go dry.

"At this point, yeah, we got to rethink how we do the alcohol up at the sports center," councilman Doug Holler said. He added that on two other occasions he has received complaints from the public that employees at the complex had been drinking there.

"Nobody's taking it serious up there, I think, is the problem," he said. "Now, stuff like this happens. I think, yeah, we need to rethink alcohol use at the sports center."

The city takes alcohol consumption "extremely seriously," said Hastings, who manages the Menard. He said each event has a plan, including security, and that on Saturday there were at least nine signs posted designating the event was for people age 21 and older. While Vest's son slipped through, there were many other minors who were caught trying to sneak in and kept out, he said.

"With 600 people, I think we did a very fine job," he said. "I really don't know what to tell you. My apologies, my sincere apologies."

The Mug-Shot Saloon was the alcohol vendor for the event, chief Belden said.

"I don't have any indications that people who had the concession did anything wrong," he said. "Our investigation is leading toward a particular individual."

When that investigation is concluded, criminal charges could be brought, the chief said. For the man who snuck the boy in and bought him alcohol, that could mean charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor. The teen could also face a charge of minor consuming alcohol.

In the end, Vest said bringing the incident to the council's attention was difficult because the concert was a benefit for veterans.

"This was a benefit for vets, and this is where I'm going to get emotional," she said, choking up. "My husband is in Kuwait protecting this country and you failed my family with my husband gone, and I failed as a mother. I was right next door. ... Now I have to tell my husband, who's thousands of miles away, and he can't do anything. That's why I'm here tonight, because I expect you to do something."

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.