A former Huron Police captain is a day into his retirement after authorities ticketed teenagers for drinking at his house.
Huron's city council accepted Dan Marotteck's application for retirement after meeting three different days this week in executive session for personnel reasons. And city leaders aren't saying if there's any connection between the retirement and drinking incident.
With some details kept behind closed doors, people in Huron do know this: Marotteck is no longer a captain in the police department. And law enforcement responded to his house for a 911 call about underage drinking on August 15.
"They found several underage people there, two of which they identified had been drinking," Beadle County state's attorney Mike Moore said.
Moore says authorities aren't pressing charges against the former police captain. Marotteck was in a shed on the property when law enforcement arrived but not in the house where they found the teens.
We talked with a variety of people about the incident who didn't want to be on camera and got a variety of reactions. One man said he wasn't surprised to hear about it. Many others say there's just not enough information out there to form much of an opinion.
Some have been adding their input online. Responding to a story about the incident posted on KELOLAND.COM. One person wrote that there's nothing wrong with teenagers drinking in a safe place. Another person questioned why Marotteck isn't being charged.
But, Moore says the report he received from investigators didn't offer any proof that Marotteck was involved in providing alcohol or knowingly providing a place for the teens to drink.
"Based on the investigation, it had appeared that he had just arrived back to his residence 15 to 20 minutes before the police arrived there," Moore said.
And Moore says a friend was with him. Still, Marotteck is no longer on the force.
City leaders say they can't comment on the personnel issue but can just confirm that Marotteck retired.
Law enforcement cited one teenager for drinking that night. Another ran away and has a warrant our for his arrest.
Comments