A Parker County mother charged with furnishing alcohol to minors at a large after-prom party last month said she was just trying to keep the teenagers safe.
"Our goal after prom was to do nothing more than give these kids a safe place to be kids, which they're going to do anyway," Patricia Linn told NBC 5 in an interview Tuesday.
The couple's son is a senior at Weatherford High School. The prom and the after-party was April 28.
Someone called the sheriff's department about the party, and deputies responded. They didn't arrest anyone that night but filed a report on what they found. The parents were charged last week after a three-week investigation.
"Talk about stupidity -- that's stupid," said Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler. "I think it's dangerous, because who knows what those young people are going to do unsupervised with all that alcohol? I think it's beyond the pale."
Linn denied buying alcohol or furnishing it to minors but did admit alcohol was there.
She said she thought the students would be safe on the family's 200-acre Milsap ranch.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"We had a sleepover," she said. "We asked all the kids to bring their pillows and blankets."
Linn said she and her husband hired three security guards to make sure everyone was safe.
"I think saying it's stupid is living with your head in the sand," she said.
The party was under control, she said, until deputies arrived and startled the underaged party-goers.
Several teenagers received minor injuries when they ran into the nearby woods.
"If I prevented accidents or death from the kids not conducting themselves in a perfect manner, then I'd do it all over again to save them," Linn said.
No court date has been set.
