Two men were brought to jail, two others face criminal charges and several youths will be cited for underage drinking after deputies discovered a party on Lake Alexander late Saturday night.
A deputy was checking ice shacks when he noted the strong odor of marijuana coming from one of them. Before he could make contact, a vehicle arrived at the shack but then tried to rapidly leave when they saw the deputy’s vehicle.
When the deputy stopped and made contact with the vehicle, a passenger, an 18-year-old Merrill man, was found to be drinking in violation of his probation rules. He was cited for the offense and brought to the Lincoln County Jail where he was held on a probation violation charge. The driver, a 17-year-old Merrill man, was found to have a warrant through the Marathon County Sheriff for contempt of court. He was brought to the Lincoln County Jail and held until Sunday afternoon when his bond was posted and he was released.
When the deputy returned to the ice shack, the odor of marijuana intensified when he reached the door and he found numerous people inside of the shack. A 17-year-old Merrill man was found to have brought the drug to the party while a 19-year-old Merrill man admitted providing the drug paraphernalia. All but one of the youths in the shack admitted to using the drug. Both of those men will be summonsed into court on drug charges.
A half a dozen youths, ranging in age from 16 to 19 will be cited for underage drinking. They were from Merrill or Gleason, and all of them were sent home with sober drivers or relatives.