Nine Notre Dame Hockey Players Busted By Cops

(above) The Natty Lights were flowing in South Bend on Saturday night

(left) Notre Dame hockey player Joe Levine's 21st birthday party resulted in mass arrests

From: South Bend Tribune

Indiana State Excise Police arrested 44 people, 9 of them University of Notre Dame hockey players, on alcohol charges early Saturday morning at a house party in the 1000 block of East Washington Street, police reported. Eight of the hockey players were incoming freshmen. They are: defenseman Jared Beers, forward Jeff Costello, forward David Gerths, forward Anders Lee, goaltender Joe Rogers, goaltender Steven Summerhays, defenseman Shayne Taker and forward Mike Voran.

Another athlete arrested on misdemeanor charges of minor consumption was Nate Montana, a junior backup quarterback on the football team and son of Notre Dame legend Joe Montana, according to St. Joseph County police spokesman Assistant Chief Bill Redman.

Joe Lavin, a junior defenseman last year on the Irish hockey team, and another person were charged with misdemeanors for allegedly providing alcohol to minors, Redman said. Lavin lives at the house where the party was located, and Saturday was his 21st birthday, according to police.

Another eighteen people arrested on minor consumption charges are reportedly members of the Notre Dame football, basketball, cross country, fencing, rowing, swimming, and track and field teams. All but six of the remaining people arrested are Notre Dame students, according to listings in the university phone directory.

'Pandemonium'

South Bend police said they were dispatched to the neighborhood at 1:41 a.m. on the report of about a dozen people fighting, throwing punches near the corner of Washington and Eddy streets, one block north of Jefferson Boulevard.

Upon arrival, officers heard glass breaking from the back of the residence and immediately called for more units. South Bend police said pandemonium began to occur, with numerous men and women jumping out of windows and off the roof of the residence.

Excise Police officers arrived at 1:53 a.m., according to a news release, and 15 or more South Bend police officers left their patrol beats from across the city to assist and catch people who were fleeing, police said.

After about an hour, when the chaos was under control, police said they began gathering, arresting and transporting underage people to the county jail.

South Bend police said the residence is a frequent destination for police dispatches. Several arrests were previously made at the address for underage drinking, narcotics, resisting law enforcement, and attempt to disarm a police officer.

South Bend fire and medics also were called to the house for a woman who cut her arm while breaking a window, trying to get out of the house. She was taken to Memorial Hospital, the news release from Excise Police said. Several other people fled the scene and were not caught, police said.

Redman said bond was set at $150 for each person arrested.

All 44 people arrested had bonded out of the county jail by Saturday afternoon. They are due in court July 30, Redman said.

Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said university officials are aware of the incident, gathering facts, and will monitor the situation.

"The safety and welfare of our students is always of utmost concern to the university, and we have an established record of working with them when they face difficulties of any kind, including recommendations about securing legal counsel if needed," he wrote in an e-mail.

"At the same time, we expect our students to be good citizens of the community and hold them accountable when necessary. Beyond that, we won't discuss specifics of any situation, much less one that is still unfolding."