Facebook/Johnson County
Tiffany Shalberg, a 44-year-old Kansas woman, has been arrested after she allegedly hosted drinking parties for minors.
According to the Overland Park Police Department, Shalberg hosted parties at her Overland Park, Kansas home from October 2017 to April 2018 where minors were allegedly given alcohol. Prosecutors believe that a majority of the teens in attendance at Shalberg’s parties were high schoolers in southern Johnson County.
Authorities arrested Shalberg on Thursday, January 3, while officers were serving a warrant. Following her arrest, she was later released on a $1,500 cash bond.
Johnson County court records indicate that six minors who were born between 2000 and 2001 are listed as witnesses. Additionally, a neighbor of Shalberg’s neighbor told KCTV 5 parties were happening “every day.”
Shalberg has since been charged with one count of hosting a juvenile alcohol party, four counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor, three counts of contributing to a child’s misconduct, three counts of endangering a child and one count of promoting obscenity.
In a statement, Steve Howe, the Johnson County District Attorney, said that the DA’s office will take these charges seriously:
“I will say these are considered to be very serious situations because you’re introducing alcohol and drugs to minors who many times get behind the wheel of a car. And that’s the dangerous aspect. We’ve seen some real tragic stories over the years in Kansas City where it’s led to either the death or injury to those minors or other individuals.”
“We think that these are important for public safety,” he said. “We also think that it is important to protect minors who, many times, don’t make correct decisions. And, to have an adult actually facilitate them committing crimes I think is horrific from our vantage point. And, I think the public is highly offended by these situations.”
Shalberg’s arraignment in Johnson County Court has been scheduled for January 15.