Decatur Co. deputies find kids drinking underage, including 9-year-old
DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. — Deputies said when they arrived at a house Monday for a disturbance call, they found several people drinking underage. Deputies said when they entered the home on Cedar Hill Road they found a 9-year-old drinking and two 14-year-olds drinking alcohol. Deputies arrested 18-year-old Samuel Chadwick Hayes and charged him with underage consumption of alcohol. They said when they questioned the 14-year-old girl, she admitted to receiving alcohol while riding in a car to the home. She said they had been drinking whiskey. Jessica Mays, a mother of three, said the topic of alcohol does not come up in her home. She said hearing a 9-year-old was able to get his hands on alcohol shocks her. “Kids have always got into stuff,” Mays said. “Kids drink. At some point, they’ve got to try it out. It’s like a rite of passage, but it’s just a little bit early for that.” She said hearing a 9-year-old was able to get his hands on alcohol shocks her. “At nine, I don’t think a kid should know what getting drunk really is,” she said. “I honestly think if you asked my 8-year-old what getting drunk was, she wouldn’t have a truly logical explanation for it.” Mays said she blames society for teaching children drinking is cool. She now plans to educate her kids about the dangers of alcohol. “It’s a sad day in age when we’re teaching them them things that early,” Mays said. “We should be shielding them and hiding them and protecting them from them things.” Hayes was released from jail later on Monday. The department said this incident is still under investigation.
