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Arrests Begin In Holloway House Party Case

The “grace period” former NFL player Brian Holloway extended to the youths who ransacked his Stephentown home to make apologies and amends is over – the arrests have begun – the young man who masterminded the house party is among those taken into custody .

Holloway, who played for the Patriots and Raiders in the 1980s, told the Associated Press he'll press charges against anyone who broke any law - quote "The parents had a chance and students had a chance to come forward, and only four did."

Authorities have identified the event-planner who masterminded the Stephentown House party as 19-year-old Seth Hawk of Grafton, whom Holloway said he had taken into his family a few years ago, when the young man was homeless.

Hawk faces felony charges of burglary and criminal mischief and misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child. He's accused of advertising the party and supplying alcohol.

I asked Lincy Jacobs, an attorney with Tully Rinckey, what options the defendants have to fight the charges brought against them.

"The police have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that those children charged have taken property in excess of a thousand dollars.  I don't know that any of the pictures (uploaded to social media) show that.  I know the pictures show that they were there, but how are they going to prove that it's those six defendants who were charged that actually took that property?"

There's been a 7th arrest in the blossoming case: A teen under the age of 17 turned himself in at the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Department headquarters Friday morning. No spokesman from the department would go on tape.

Police have promised those who come forward will receive leniency in prosecution. Brian Holloway says there is a lesson here for all...

"It's a call to action for sure.  I get what happened with the teenagers in terms of drugs and alcohol escalating you toward that type of behavior.  I don't get what happened to the parents.   That was the big concern. And I do get the fact that America is outraged, as we have 28 million people on helpmesave300.com and that this moment has now turned into a movement."

Holloway says he is working with software developers to help foster emerging technology which will empower parents to monitor their children's online activities. Meanwhile, the investigation continues - with more arrests expected.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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