Elkhart County authorities have made a number of arrests in the past few days regarding underage drinking.

On Nov. 23, officers of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Teenage Alcohol Reduction Team responded to a report of a loud party at 56974 Ash Rd. in Osceola. Upon obtaining a search warrant, the officers found 27 underage individuals at the home who had been drinking. Also at the scene were three adults who were charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The juveniles were released to their parents and ordered to appear in court. Those arrested were Lindsey McCann, 19, who was charged with illegal consumption, and Rex Hickman, 21, who was arrested for resisting law enforcement and battery on a police officer. Hickman was wanted on a warrant out of Marshall County. McCann has previously been arrested for the same illegal consumption offense.

In an unrelated incident on Nov. 21, officers of the Elkhart County S.T.A.R. Team were called to a complaint of teenagers in a limousine who appeared to be drinking alcohol and were exposing themselves. Officers stopped the vehicle on SR 15 just north of Goshen.

During the traffic stop, 6 individuals under the age of 18 and 5 individuals under the age of 21, were detained and released to their parents with an order to appear in court.

The S.T.A.R. team is comprised of officers of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department with a main focus to target and reduce underage drinking and smoking. From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, the team has issued 127 citations for underage drinking alone. That does not include citations for tobacco, marijuana, warrants, runaways, thefts, curfew violations or other offenses.