A Christmas-themed lingerie party in Georgia reportedly concluded with police arresting 70 attendees on drug- and gun-related offenses.
WSB-TV reported that Cartersville police responded to the home early Sunday following reports of shots fired. Partygoers told the station that officers were inspecting the property when they smelled marijuana in the front yard.
The partygoers claimed that police didn’t have a warrant when the officers went into the home. The police, however, told WSB-TV in a statement that they obtained a warrant before finding two stolen guns, individually-packaged marijuana, and smoking paraphernalia throughout the Cartersville home.
The statement said that officers recovered individually-packed cocaine and cocaine paraphernalia from multiple suspects.
A flyer obtained by WXIA supposedly advertised the ill-fated event as a “Christmas lingerie/pajama party” celebrating a 21st birthday. Deja Heard told WSB-TV that she rented the home through Air BnB for her birthday.
“I’m very sorry it happened, all of us are innocent–it’s just not right,” she said.
The Cartersville Daily Tribune reported that police arrested 70 people during Sunday’s bust, including high school star athletes from Bartow County. The ages of the people arrested ranged from 15 to 31 years old, WSB-TV noted.
Jail records obtained by the newspaper indicated that 63 of them were charged with possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana.
Ten of the people arrested on Sunday have went to the media to accuse police of abuse. They alleged that officers tied them up with zip ties and threatened them with Tasers. The attendees also claimed they spent three days in jail for nothing.
“I was throwing up water,” a pregnant woman who attended the party told WSB-TV.
“The whole saying ‘innocent until proven guilty’ went out the window. They told me I was an unfit person to have a baby.”
Cartersville police Lt. M.E. Bettikofer told the Associated Press that their investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, the NAACP has reportedly gotten involved with the matter.
[Featured Image: Multiple mugshots/WAGA]
