GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An Ada Township couple were sentenced Monday to 15 days in jail for allowing minors to drink at their home, including a Grand Rapids Christian High School graduate who died that same evening in a single-vehicle crash.
Police say 18-year-old John Holmes was drunk when he crashed his car shortly after leaving the June 20 party on Preservation Drive NE. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit for adults.
The party was at the home of David and Nichole Kooistra. Investigators say more than two dozen people attended the event.
The Kooistras were charged with drugs/alcohol consumption by minors – allowing on premises.
During a hearing Monday in 63rd District Court, they each entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by up to 30 days in jail.
Judge Jeffrey O‘Hara ordered each to serve 15 days in jail. They also were placed on probation for one year and each assessed fines and costs of more than $1,400.
David Paul Kooistra, 43, and his wife, Nichole Marie Kooistra, also 43, were booked into the Kent County Jail Monday afternoon.
Alexander Smith, a friend of John Holmes, wrote a letter to the court in which he described the anguish of losing his friend in such a tragic way.
“This has caused so many levels of anger, depression, self-guilt, and unrest,’’ Smith wrote the judge. “This death has caused sleepless nights and me questioning over and over what could I have done to tell him not to attend.’’
Investigators say Holmes was among a group of about 25-30 students from Grand Rapids Christian High School who attended a birthday party at the Kooistra home, located on Preservation Drive near Grand River Drive NE. The couple’s daughter is a 2020 graduate of Grand Rapids Christian.
“Holmes was seen by several partygoers consuming alcohol,’’ the sheriff’s department wrote in a news release. “He left the party in the vehicle that he arrived in and later crashed.’’
The party took place on Saturday, June 20. Shortly before 11 p.m. that evening, Kent County deputies responded to a single-vehicle crash on Pettis Avenue south of Two Mile Road NE, also in Ada Township. The vehicle was on fire.
Investigators determined a 2019 GMC Acadia was northbound on Pettis when the vehicle left the road and flipped over. Holmes, who was alone in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The autopsy results showed that at the time of the car crash, Holmes’ blood alcohol concentration was three times the legal limit and that he had THC in his system,’’ the sheriff’s department wrote in a news release.
For those of legal drinking age in Michigan, the threshold for drunk driving is a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or above. It is a crime for those under 21 to have a blood alcohol level of 0.02% or greater. Holmes had a blood alcohol level of 0.24%, the sheriff’s department said.
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