Social host violator chooses jail over probation

Woman convicted of unlawfully dealing with a child opts for 60 days

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A woman who was arrested in 2012 after she served cotton candy-flavored vodka to minors chose earlier this month to serve 60 days in jail instead of completing her probation.

Long Beach resident Kimberly Ossandon was arrested on Oct. 15, 2012, and charged with seven counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 and seven counts of unlawfully dealing with a child.

According to Long Beach police, Ossandon, who was 38 at the time, served a bottle of cotton candy-flavored Pinnacle Vodka to seven 14-year-old children in Long Beach on Sept. 16, 2012.

One teenage girl became so intoxicated that she required emergency medical treatment by the Long Beach Fire Department, which transported her to Long Beach Medical Center, where she was treated in the emergency room, according to Lt. Eric Cregeen, a Long Beach police spokesman.

Ossandon was convicted of one of the charges of unlawfully dealing with a child, according to Long Beach City Court. She was also issued a five-year order of protection and a $250 fine for violating the social host law, a court clerk said. The other charges were dismissed. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice declined to comment.

Long Beach Police Commissioner Mike Tangney said that Ossandan was originally sentenced to probation. But at a resentencing in Long Beach City Court on March 15, she chose to serve 60 days in jail instead. Sources familiar with the case speculated that she could not meet the terms of her probation.

“The bottom line is that the judge, when he showed the choices she [had], they were serious choices,” Tangney said. “We’re serious about combating underage drinking, and if you’re involved as an adult, you’re going to face extended probation or possibly jail time. What people choose, that’s up to them.”

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