York Co. deputies bust 2 teen drinking parties

Published: October 1, 2012 

John Larry Chapman

— A Fort Mill man accused of buying alcohol for a teenage girl he met on Facebook and two Charlotte teens playing beer pong in a York County hotel room were arrested after deputies broke up two drinking parties Sunday.

Police were called to a house in Sharon around 4 p.m. where they spoke with a teenage girl who said that she and three friends were inside drinking. The girl said she found 21-year-old John Larry Chapman, of 109 Elm St. in Fort Mill, on Facebook and asked him to buy her alcohol, according to a York County Sheriff’s report.

Chapman went to her house, where he gave the 12-, 13- and 14-year-old girls, apple and grape-flavored packs of Smirnoff alcoholic drinks. Chapman told police he drank four of eight drinks, while the girls finished the rest, the report states.

The report states Chapman and the girl he met online went into her bedroom, while the other girls stayed in the den. The girl said she and Chapman didn’t have sex but she did kiss him, the report states. Chapman was charged with three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and the girls were taken to Moss Justice Center, issued citations and released to their parents.

When reached Tuesday, Chapman denied the girl's allegation that she kissed him and said he was never in the room alone with her. He and the girl had been Facebook friends for four months, Chapman said.

He said he wasn't sure of her age, but didn't think that she was a young teen. Sunday was the first time she asked him to buy alcohol, he said.

He also said there was never one point Sunday where he was with the girl alone in her room.

Hotel beer pong

In an unrelated case, around 11 a.m. Sunday a deputy spoke with 17-year-old Brandon Lentz and a 16-year-old girl, who he found walking in the parking lot of the Plaza Hotel off Carowinds Boulevard. Lentz admitted to police he had several beers. He also had tobacco, according to another report.

He was arrested and charged as a minor in possession of beer. The girl said she also drank and was cited as a minor in possession of beer. Deputies went to a hotel room where Lentz and the girl were staying and found 21-year-old Cody Harahus of 10400 John Price Road in Charlotte; Coty Benton, 18, of 17209 Halter Drive in Charlotte; and Patrick Bunker, also 18, of 9810 Steele Meadow Road in Charlotte.

They also found five empty cases of beer, trash bags filled with beer cans, a refrigerator filled with opened and unopened beer cans and cups of beer and ping pong balls used for beer pong, a drinking game. Harahus admitted that he bought the beer and rented the room, and Benton said he had been drinking, the report states. Patrick denied drinking any beers.

Benton, Harahus and the girls were cited while Brandon and Patrick were arrested and taken to the Fort Mill Police Department.

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