Published: July 04, 2008 01:32 am         

No charges expected in alcohol death

MANKATO — No criminal charges will be pursued in the May death of a 16-year-old LeHillier boy who spent the night drinking in a park with a group that included his brothers.

Detective Cmdr. Matt DuRose said Thursday the department will not be seeking criminal charges related to the death of Andrew Isaac Anderson, who had a blood-alcohol concentration of .38 when he died.

Witnesses gave conflicting reports about how the alcohol was obtained, DuRose said. An autopsy report filed Monday determined Anderson died May 30 from acute ethanol toxicity caused by “excess ingestion of alcohol.”

Anderson took numerous “pulls” off a vodka bottle before passing out, vomited in his sleep and died from alcohol poisoning, according to Mankato police reports.

Two of Anderson’s brothers, 19-year-old Christopher and 18-year-old Benjamin, were with him on top of a large wooded hill in Land of Memories Park when the first officers arrived just before midnight May 30. Two friends were also there and officers were told the group had been drinking since 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.

After being taken to the Law Enforcement Center for an interview, Christopher Anderson told an investigator the alcohol — two 1.75 liter bottles of Phillips Vodka — had been purchased for them by a friend he had met at a party.

“Christopher was unwilling to provide his name but stated he was in his 20s,” the report said.

The teens were taking turns doing “pulls” from the vodka bottles and following them with gulps from cans of energy drinks, Christopher Anderson told police. He estimated he had taken 10 to 15 pulls and that Andrew had consumed double that amount.

“Christopher stated that Andrew became very drunk and was saying things that didn’t make sense around 10 p.m.,” a police report from that interview said. “He stated (Andrew) fell off a log at one point, at which time they told him to stop drinking.”

The other teens placed Andrew on his side and kept an eye on him. He was passed out for about an hour before they checked on him the last time and realized he wasn’t breathing, the report said. They attempted to do CPR themselves for about three minutes before calling 911, Christopher Anderson told police.

Officers and rescue personnel had to navigate up the muddy hill before they could attempt to revive Andrew, who showed no signs of life by the time they arrived, the reports said.