WESTBROOK–Four University of Southern Maine men’s hockey players, including an assistant captain, were charged with furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol Saturday after hosting a drinking party at their apartment in Westbrook.
Westbrook police issued summonses to assistant captain Jonathan Rutt, 22, of Scarborough; Stephen Wiedler, 23, of Farmingdale, N.Y.; Brett Kapteina, 25, of Stamford, Conn., and Daniel Rautenberg, 22, of Cape Elizabeth.
Rautenberg, who was the team’s second-leading scorer this season, was also charged with sale and use of drug paraphernalia.
Kapteina was previously sentenced to 21 months in prison for a drunk-driving accident in Connecticut that killed a 19-year-old man in 2004, according to an article in the Greenwich Time.
Capt. Tom Roth said police received a noise complaint from a neighbor of the apartment on Tramway Lane at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Officers arrived at the apartment to find “a large amount of alcohol present” and an assortment of marijuana pipes, which they seized. There were also several underage drinkers. Police issued summonses to Katelyn Laubi, 18, of Bridgewater, Mass.; Amanda Methot, 20, of Biddeford; Taryn Arrighi, 18, of Bridgewater, Mass., and Clara Stevens, 20, of Eldred, N.Y, for possession of alcohol by a minor.
Roth said there were only one or two other people, who weren’t issued summonses, at the party.
Stephen Nelson, the university’s director of community standards, said Wednesday he wasn’t aware of the incident, but would be looking into it.
According to Nelson, students can be charged with violating the University of Maine System’s policy code even if they’re off campus. However, he said, the behavior would have to meet certain stipulations.
The code says it may be applied to cases “in which the University can demonstrate a clear and distinct interest as an academic institution regardless of where the conduct occurs and which seriously threatens (a) any educational process or legitimate function of the University or (b) the health or safety of any member of the academic community.”
Athletes at the university, Nelson said, are also subject to penalties regarding their ability to play sports. The university’s hockey team played its last game of the season on Feb. 27. However, Nelson said, violations that occur when teams aren’t in season can result in punishments that are applied during the next season.
According to the hockey team’s roster, three of the four men charged were underclassmen. Kapteina is a senior.
Nelson said when athletes violate the student code of conduct, he and Athletic Director Al Bean conduct separate investigations.
Bean couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
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