A San Diego attorney spent a night behind bars after authorities say he hosted an alcohol-ridden Playboy mansion-themed bash for his teen daughter and several hundred underage friends at their home.
San Diego Sheriff’s deputies responding to a noise complaint said they immediately noticed several intoxicated teens and were greeted at the front door of attorney Jeffery Lake’s Poway residence with “the stench of alcohol radiating from the home.”
In a release sent to NBC 7, Lake admitted to hosting a party for his 18-year-old daughter Olivia and some 200 of her friends. But he said he did not provide alcohol or drugs to the partiers. The Playboy mansion-themed party began with an invitation encouraging guys to wear Hugh Hefner-inspired attire and the girls come dressed in bunny ears and cotton tails, he said.
Olivia’s mother, Jacki Lake, is a former PTSA president for Poway High School and was part of the Every 15 Minutes committee — a national program encouraging kids to make good choices about the use of alcohol.
Just weeks before the ordeal that landed her husband in jail, Jacki posted a colorful birthday message to her daughter’s Twitter account, urging her not to get arrested.
@TheLivLake Happiest Birthday to the baddest bitch in town. Now don't get arrested. Love you madly. #liontamer pic.twitter.com/7g5g6VYR5i
— Jacki Lake (@jackilake) December 6, 2014But it was the father who landed in jail following the bash. Shortly after deputies showed up at his home, Lake was cuffed while the officers searched his house. Inside they found two teenage males passed out, surrounded by vomit and urine, according to authorities.
Lake, who was eventually taken into custody and spent the night in jail before posting $200 bail, said charges have not yet been filed. He denies any involvement in providing alcohol to his daughter and her friends and said he feels his rights were violated and his name defamed.
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“Despite my family’s intentions to provide my daughter a fun and safe 18th birthday party in the privacy of our own home, and in defiance of my efforts to provide a drug and alcohol free environment…it appears that uninvited troublemakers on a public street created a scenario which has resulted in exactly the opposite; leaving my family to deal with the consequences of their actions,” the statement reads.
Caldwell, however, said it is the adult’s responsibility to be just that: an adult.
“Be responsible. Be the adult. Be the responsible party here,” she said. “Be the responsible adult and don’t allow drinking in your home.”
Lake claims he was not read his Miranda Rights or shown a warrant, but the sheriff’s department said the local social host ordinance does not require one.
Sheriff’s department spokesperson Jan Caldwell said they make hundreds of arrests throughout the year under the ordinance. Before the ordinance existed, deputies were unable to enter private property to check the welfare and ages of those people who might be consuming alcohol.
“We have a responsibility to go in that house and make sure everyone is alright,” she said. “And sometimes they aren’t.”
At this point, Lake and his family are not speaking on the case. Caldwell said the misdemeanor case is being handled by the city attorney and could make no comment on the case specifically.
