On Friday, July 23, 2016, Sheriff Dale Schmidt received a tip that there was going to be a party at N5022 Butternut Tr, in the Town of Hubbard, Dodge County to occur on Saturday, July 24, 2016.
The information received was as follows: “Please bring as many good friends as you can it’s gonna be a rager, bring your own drugs. I like parties. I’m throwing one this weekend, lots of music beer pong and fun. If your down bring you and your friends, a bunch of people are gina (gonna) be there…., it’s going to be a project x type party….Spread the word, no cops….Going to be lit.”
The message was very concerning to the Sheriff on a number of levels. The information received was that this was being advertised both in and out of the county. With the amount of drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, the Sheriff was not going to allow a party that was advertising drug use and rave type events to occur. The Sheriff stated, “I will not allow this to turn into another drug overdose death in Dodge County.”
The Dodge County Drug Task Force along with the Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies were assigned to investigate the incident and take actions as necessary. As a result, deputies were able to arrive at the party and shut it down early in the night. Even with the early arrival, deputies still made arrests of 7 individuals for underage drinking, 3 arrests for possession of drug paraphernalia, and one arrest of a 20 year old for Operating under the Influence of an Intoxicant (OWI).
The Sheriff would like to impress on those who choose to attend parties such as these, that we in law enforcement receive information on many of them anonymously. When we show up, it isn’t with the intent to harass or ruin a good time, but rather to prevent the tragedies that we see all too often.
Some would say that these are just kids having a good time, but law enforcement officers see first hand the aftermath when the so called “good time” turns into tragedy and death. It happens very quickly and is something that can never be taken back.
Thankfully, this is not a story of tragedy, and even though these individuals may face citations or charges they will live another day.
Our goal at the Sheriff’s Office is to promote safety and common sense so everyone can go home to their families each and every night. Please have a safe weekend.