Father Cleared Of Charges In Teen Son's Drinking Incident
BURGETTSTOWN (KDKA) -- A man from Tennessee who was arrested in Washington County and charged with giving his 14-year-old son alcohol is telling his story.
Bannon Myers, 41, is breaking his silence after the charges against him were dropped today.
The nightmare for Myers and his 14-year-old son, Shane, began on August 14. They had driven from Kingsport, Tenn., to visit family in Burgettstown.
"We [were] out having a cookout and I did drink a little bit and I went to bed – we all went to bed," Myers told KDKA-TV. "He got back up and snuck into the alcohol."
Shane was found in the backyard by a neighbor. He was unconscious when he was taken to the hospital. He drank tequila, vodka and Mountain Dew, but his father spent several days in jail charged with giving his son the booze.
Myers says no one would listen.
"The officer kept just saying how worthless I was as a father and took me to jail," he said.
Myers was back for court in Burgettstown. The charges were dropped, but he says his life will never be the same.
"People I was even friends with on the computer and stuff don't want nothing to do with me, don't want me around their kid over it," he said. "I mean, it's been pretty rough."
Myers' brother, Brian, who lives in Burgettstown, says he too is damaged.
"The family's been having problems since then," he told KDKA-TV. "We own two restaurants and everybody at the time thought it was me and kept coming in and asking, 'What was I thinking?' and I had nothing to do with it –my brother had nothing to do with it."
Myers, who is on disability, says the trips back and forth to Pennsylvania for court hearings have taken a financial toll on him. After almost losing custody of his son, both are now in counseling.
RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Washington County News
