Crime

Teens found with alcohol in ex-Carolina Panthers player’s Lake Wylie mansion

The Lake Wylie home owned by former Carolina Panthers player Jeff Otah.
The Lake Wylie home owned by former Carolina Panthers player Jeff Otah.

Three teenagers were found inside a vacant Clover mansion off Lake Wylie owned by former Carolina Panthers player Jeff Otah.

Otah hasn't been with the NFL team since 2012 and neighbors said, for the most part, no one has stayed in the luxury home, valued at $650,000, since then — until last Sunday.

That's when neighbor Dave Pollizi and his wife said they saw cars parked in the backyard and called 911.

"We were watching the police go in the house and he was in there for probably 20 minutes, so I walked over there to see if the cop was OK. He appeared to be OK and he said he's got two or three kids in the house. One darted; my wife saw one run," Pollizi told Channel 9.

York County sheriff deputies said they found one 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds in the house. Two were sleeping.

"They claim the doors were unlocked," said Trent Faris with the York County Sheriff’s Office.

The teenagers are charged with trespassing and minor in possession of alcohol.

Investigators said the next step is finding out how the teens got the alcohol.

“We don't know where they got the alcohol. They did have beer, several cases of beer, in the home," Faris said.

Neighbors on the quiet street have a warning for anyone else who wants to try it.

"Definitely the neighborhood is alerted and everybody's watching now," Pollizi said.

Channel 9 tried reaching out to Otah but haven’t heard back.

Pollizi said deputies told Otah police in Delaware went to his current home and told him about the break-in.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Teens found with alcohol in ex-Carolina Panthers player’s Lake Wylie mansion."

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