CRIMINAL JUSTICE

At least 63 people were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana after police were unable to identify the actual owner of the drug stash found at a house party in Cartersville, Georgia, over the weekend.

Cartersville police said they arrived at the party — billed as a lingerie-themed 21st birthday bash, according to WXIA-TV — about 2:20 a.m. Sun., Jan. 1, 2018, after receiving a 911 call about possible gunshots. Police, who called in the county drug task force to assist in the investigation, said they found two firearms at the scene, including one that had been reported stolen in Detroit, as well as “several smoking devices” and “suspected cocaine.”

Officers also found less than an ounce of marijuana, reported the Cartersville Daily-Tribune. When no one admitted to owning the weed, everyone still at the party was arrested.

“All the subjects at the residence were placed under arrest for the possession of the suspected marijuana which was within everyone’s reach or control,” said the Bartow Cartersville Drug Task Force in a news release.

Citing jail records, the Daily-Tribune reported that 63 people arrested at the party who’d been processed at Bartow County jail by Monday night had all been charged with a single count of possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana. The individuals arrested were predominantly black males ages 19 to 25. The Daily-Tribune said several of them were “prominent high school athletes.”