Dangerously intoxicated 19-year-old hospitalized, GA reports say
UPDATE: On April 17, 2023, police released new information stemming from the investigation into this case:
Officials said their investigation revealed that Trenton Lehrkamp voluntarily drank alcohol until he “blacked out,” and he was not forced to drink or tortured in any way. The investigation also determined that Lehrkamp is not autistic.
Police said their investigation into the incident is ongoing.
An updated story can be found here.
The original story is below.
A 19-year-old remains hospitalized in Georgia after he was forced to drink alcohol by teenagers, Georgia reports say.
Glynn County police said Trenton Lehrkamp was dropped off the evening of Tuesday, March 21 at Southeast Georgia Health Center. He was highly intoxicated from a mixture of controlled substances and alcohol.
The hospital told officials that three juveniles had dropped Lehrkamp off, according to a March 26 news release. The three juveniles registered their names with the ER but left before police arrived.
Officers said Lehrkamp did not have any signs of physical injury but there was spray paint on him.
Lehrkamp was put on a ventilator after he was “deemed inconclusive to life; only passing 6 breaths per minute,” according to a GoFundMe started by loved ones.
The 19-year-old — who is autistic — was bullied by a group of teenagers before he was hospitalized, 11Alive’s Kaitlyn Ross reported. The group taped Lehrkamp to a chair and “force fed him alcohol,” Ross said in a Facebook post.
On Wednesday, March 22, detectives obtained a search warrant for the St. Simons Island residence where Tuesday’s incident occurred. Several pieces of evidence were collected and officers interviewed several minors “associated with the incident,” police said.
Detectives interviewed Lehrkamp about the incident on Sunday, March 26, according to the release. Lehrkamp was “alert and conscious” during the interview, and he and his family are working with police.
The incident involved several former and current Glynn County Schools students, according to a March 27 Facebook post. The district says it is cooperating with police.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Glynn County Police Department via the Silent Witness program at 912-264-1333 or 911silentwitness@glynncounty-ga.gov.
St. Simons Island is about 75 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida.
This story was originally published March 27, 2023 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Dangerously intoxicated 19-year-old hospitalized, GA reports say."
