LAWRENCE — Police broke up two more illegal house parties over the weekend — this time without the benefit of Internet surveillance that's been the major tool of Operation Party Crashers.
Police Chief John Romero credited angry neighbors who couldn't get to sleep for the 911 calls that led to nine arrests in raids on two Water Street homes.
"We were brought to both locations because of reports of loud music," Romero said.
"The biggest complaint we get in the city are noise complaints. It starts in April and runs through October. Last month, we got 113 calls for loud music. And this is something we're going to go after aggressively," the chief said. "If you're blasting your music at 1 o'clock in the morning and people have to call the station because it's so loud, you deserve a $200 ticket."
When nighttime noise complaints involve a disorderly party and underage drinking, the consequences become more severe, as they did after police responded to a 911 call and report of beer bottles being tossed off a third-floor balcony at 158 Water St, just 10 minutes before midnight Friday.
Lt. Sean Burke said after entering the apartment to investigate the noise, he saw three men trying to hide in a kitchen closet. He noticed several empty beer bottles next to them. Burke noted in his police report that he discovered 30 more people hiding in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Police charged the apartment's renter, Evelyce Ruiz, 19, with possession of alcohol by a person under 21 and keeping a noisy and disorderly house.
Ruiz's mother — Shonda Miner, 35, of Woburn — was charged with allowing minors to possess alcohol. Police found her in the bedroom with her 4-year-old daughter.
Jason Rodriguez, 19, of Lawrence was charged with possession of alcohol by a person under 21 and disturbing the peace.
Two 15-year-old Woburn boys were also charged with possession of alcohol by a person under 21.
During the raid, Burke said Ruiz "continued to interrupt us, swear and question why we had the right to be there even though she and her party attendees were all under 21."
At 3:40 a.m. Saturday, police received several 911 calls reporting a loud party at 66 Water St.
Officer Paul Rossi said he noticed broken beer bottles scattered in the driveway and on the sidewalk as he walked toward the building. On the second floor, there were more beer bottles and trash strewn across the hallway.
What began as a birthday party with alcohol being served to several underage people ended in four arrests.
Pablo Ubiera, 25, and Luis Morales, 24, the party's hosts, were charged with keeping a disorderly house.
Rosana Caballo, 17, of 66 Water St., Lawrence, first floor, and Neftaly Nunez, 20, 220 Bruce St., Lawrence, were charged with being minors in possession of alcohol.
Police launched Operation Party Crashers in early February as an anti-underage drinking and juvenile crime initiative also directed at gangs.
The gang unit, school resource officers, community policing staff and uniformed patrol officers have participated in previous party-busting raids. In some of those cases, police developed information of illegal parties being advertised over the Internet and through schoolyard gossip.
But Romero says the best tip-off to the parties are usually neighbors bothered enough by the noise to call police.
"And when we go to these loud parties, there's usually a lot more than the noise that's a problem," Romero said.
"Parties that get out of control often have underage drinking, So, we're going to be monitoring these calls very carefully now through the fall," the chief said.
