Deputies break up party near Sugarcreek with 300 guests, armed guards
SUGARCREEK (WJER) (February 13, 2023) – Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell says a 25-year-old Akron woman was arrested after running over a deputy’s foot while trying to flee from large, out-of-control party at an Airbnb Saturday just south of Sugarcreek.
Campbell says the deputy is OK, but the Akron woman is in Tuscarawas County Jail facing possible felonious assault charges.
Campbell says a handful of deputies encountered about 300 people and security guards in body armor armed with rifles when they arrived around 11 p.m. Saturday.
“As the deputies attempt to locate who was in charge of the party, there were multiple instances of fights breaking out. Deputies dealt with that … and at the same time were trying to make sure that the individuals leaving were not impaired.”
Campbell says the Akron woman did not cooperate, wouldn’t roll her window down, and drove into the deputy’s vehicle before striking the deputy and running over his foot.
He says the property managers had called authorities to get the party cleared out because they had only approved 16 people. Campbell says many people fled.
The house is in the 5,000 block of Evans Creek Road SW. Deputies cleared the scene in about 35 minutes. Only the one person was arrested.
Huge parties in remote locations are common
Campbell says huge parties at remote Air B and B’s like the one near Sugarcreek over the weekend have become a concern.
He says people from bigger cities – in Saturday’s party, it was Akron and Canton – are looking for remote places where they believe they’re safe from law enforcement. They have crazy parties with hundreds and sometimes even thousands of people. Sometimes they charge admission, and Campbell believes there are often drugs at these parties.
Saturday’s party was particularly unnerving because there were armed guards in body armor with rifles, although they never threatened deputies.
“Most nine-millimeter pistols, which is what we carry, won’t even go through the body armor, so some of our guys had to get rifles out just to make sure they were evenly matched with firepower.”
Some people were out of control. Campbell said one fight upstairs involved 10 to 15 people.
Campbell says deputies tried to make sure people weren’t too drunk too drive, but that was hard to do with most people running away and others fighting.
“When you have four or five deputies at a party with 300 people, there’s only so much you can do.”