COLUMBUS — Adults whose decision to provide alcohol to minors results in a fatality would see their potential jail time triple under a new Ohio bill inspired by a Medina drowning victim.
House Bill 674, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Ray (R., Wadsworth), would increase the penalty for the adult supplying the alcohol in such a case from a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, to a fourth-degree felony, carrying up to 18 months. Some jail time would be mandatory.
The bill was inspired by the deaths of Trevor Pacek and Joshua Schwandt, both 19, who drowned early in the morning of June 21, 2020, after consuming alcohol provided by an adult.
At some point that night the decision was made to go out on a pond in a small boat that capsized. One person managed to swim ashore.
“Adults think that they're being safe by buying underage adults alcohol and taking the keys,” Ms. Ray said. “This story proves that that is not safe. There's a reason that you're not allowed to drink until 21 years of age. Providing alcohol to someone else's child can result in a tragedy just like Trevor's.”
An adult was later sentenced to the full 180 days in jail for providing the alcohol, fined $2,817 in fines and court costs, and placed on probation for five years.
“The sentence is a lot but doesn't go far enough,” Trevor's mother, Sharon Pacek, said as her husband, Frank, stood by her side during a Statehouse press conference.
Mrs. Pacek wore a button depicting her son's face as she recalled the moment when the cadaver dog used by police to search for her son at the scene stopped barking.
“I knew that dog found my Trevor and that Trevor wasn't coming home with us,” she said. “He wouldn't be home to celebrate Father's Day with his father.”
The bill is not expected to move before state lawmakers recess for the summer as soon as next week.
But it was introduced in the midst of a Wood County trial in which two Bowling Green State University students face multiple charges related to the death of Stone Foltz, 20, of Delaware, Ohio. Mr. Foltz died from alcohol poisoning following a hazing incident at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity in which he was encouraged to consume large amounts of alcohol.
In Mr. Foltz's case, the alcohol is believed to have been supplied by an active member of the fraternity who is over the age of 21. A misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to underage individuals was dropped as part of his plea deal. But all of the eight former Pike members who were indicted in connection with Mr. Foltz’s death originally faced charges of failure to comply with underage drinking laws.
Ms. Ray said the same penalties would apply even if the person providing the alcohol was also younger than the legal drinking age of 21.
First Published May 24, 2022, 5:01 p.m.
