Joe Hunter, 17, alcohol overdose

Joe Hunter lived in Coalville, Utah, and attended North Summit High School.  He was out with four friends on Saturday, March 17, 2007.  Police pulled over the vehicle they were riding in, and discovered Joe, unconcious.

CPR was attempted, but Joe could not be revived.  Now criminal charges against two adults and three juveniles have been filed. 

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

On March 17, a Summit County Sheriff's deputy stopped a car near Coalville and found five teens inside.

      "He smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the defendant," Summit County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Wilde wrote in an affidavit filed with the charges against Kenter.

      After questioning four teens, the deputy ordered them out and found Hunter in the backseat.

      The deputy "made contact with that individual and determined he did not have any vital signs and was unresponsive," Wilde wrote.

      The deputy started CPR and an ambulance was called. Hunter was later pronounced dead.

      "We have determined the boys probably didn't realize he was dying," Brickey said.

The alcohol was purchased by Rita Palmer, 23.  Abram Kenter, 20, was part of the drinnking party.  The three juveniles were not named.

      In court papers filed in Palmer's case, deputies claimed she bought a half-gallon of Canadian Hunter whiskey for a teen identified as "B.J.K." Prosecutors allege that Palmer knew the juvenile was under 21.

      Investigators believed Kenter had been drinking, Wilde wrote in court papers. Moreover, "during the investigation, Abram R. Kenter consistently provided false information as to where the alcohol was consumed and when."       

                                          

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[Liz D.]

Adult gets jail and probation after teen dies from alcohol poisoning The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 10/06/2007 12:44:34 AM MDT

One of two adults charged in connection with a 17-year-old boy's death from alcohol poisoning was sentenced Friday to probation and 10 days in the Summit County jail. Abram R. Kesnter, 20, did not supply the half-gallon of whiskey that killed Joseph Hunter on March 17, but he was the only adult present while he and three juvenile boys were drinking the liquor, according to prosecutors. Kenter pleaded guilty in 3rd District Juvenile Court to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and underage alcohol consumption, class B misdemeanors each punishable by up to six months in jail. Summit County Attorney David Brickey said Judge Mark May told Kenter he had an obligation as the only adult to make sure his younger brother - who was present that night - was not delinquent and to recognize that Hunter was drinking alcohol to excess. While on probation, Kenter must pay a $250 fine, attend a mental health program and write a letter of apology to the Hunter family. He is to have no association with minors, other than his siblings. The alleged supplier of the whiskey is Rita E. Palmer, 23, who worked at a toy store with one of the juveniles, Brickey said. Palmer is charged with supplying alcoholic beverages to a minor, a class A misdemeanor. She is scheduled to appear in juvenile court for a pretrial conference on Oct. 19. Palmer allegedly bought the liquor for the boy she worked with the afternoon of March 16. The dead boy was discovered by a Summit County sheriff's deputy who spotted Kenter and two other boys putting Hunter into Kenter's car after Hunter collapsed at the Coalville rodeo grounds at about 12:30 a.m. on March 17. After ordering the others out of the car, the officer found Hunter unresponsive on the back seat, according to charging documents. He was later pronounced dead. Brickey said the two surviving juveniles were charged with being minors in possession of alcohol and spent time at detention centers varying from two days to a week. - Stephen Hunt