Ballard teen party leads to damage, theft, arrests

A Ballard house party, hosted by a 15-year-old girl whose parents were out of town, started as a common, if naughty, rite of teenage passage.

It ended like a scene from the looting of Baghdad.

When they arrived at the home just after midnight last Monday, Seattle police found broken windows, holes in walls, a balcony railing ripped out and a printer sprayed with fire-extinguisher foam.

People had walked out of the home with nearly enough electronics equipment to open a small appliance store: a television set, a DVD player, a record player, three stereos, a boom box, two computers, a printer, three video-game consoles, an iPod and an estimated $1,000 worth of DVDs — as well as a mountain bike, a backpack, coins and jewelry, according to a police report.

Someone even took the toaster.

At unchaperoned teenage house parties, "it's not uncommon for some theft to take place," said Seattle Police Department spokesman Sean Whitcomb. "But for the scale of what happened at this place, it is exceptional."

Police arrested two 18-year-old men at the scene, one for having alcohol, the other for having alcohol and for property damage after slamming his face into the rear panel of a police car, according to the police report. Both were booked and released.

A man who answered the door at the Ballard home yesterday declined to comment about the incident. On the front curb, a large green trash bin was filled with debris. The mailbox post leaned backward. Nearby, neatly planted tulips bloomed unperturbed.

The scene the night of the party was not nearly as tranquil, according to neighbor Colleen Lafferty.

She called 911 twice, at around 11 p.m. and midnight, she said. The first time she reported loud noise and seeing partygoers getting into cars clutching what looked like bottles in paper bags. She called again after hearing glass breaking, she said.

Bushes blocked her view of the house, so she didn't see anyone looting the house, she said.

By the time police were dispatched there, they had received four 911 calls from neighbors, including reports of broken glass and a television and stereos being taken from the house, according to police records. Noise complaints rank low on the list of priorities for police response, Whitcomb said, explaining why police didn't go to the house after the initial complaints.

The 15-year-old girl who lives there first told police she had been staying at a friend's house and came home to find about 60 people partying at the home, according to the police report.

Later, the girl said she had invited 10 or 20 friends over for a party and that things got out of control when other people started arriving. The girl said she then retreated to her room, according to police.

Police continue investigating the case and trying to recover some of the stolen property, Whitcomb said.

Parents trying to avoid such a scenario should tell neighbors before they leave town, he said. Tell the neighbors when you are leaving, when you will return and how to reach you, Whitcomb said. And tell them to call 911 at the first sign of a party or someone at the house who shouldn't be there.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311