Landscaper arrested for throwing party while homeowners were away
A landscaper threw a wild party at his clients' jaw-dropping North Carolina mansion while they were on vacation - but he claims he did nothing wrong. Michael Brown, who runs Brown's Dream Team Landscaping, has previously mowed the lawn of a $4.3 million house in Weddington. But on Saturday afternoon, the 37-year-old had other plans at the ritzy residence - hosting a massive blowout without the owners' permission.
Hundreds of guests - mostly teens and young adults - flocked to the mansion, each paying an entry fee that Brown (pictured) pocketed, according to the Union County Sherriff's Office. With music blasting and cars clogging up the typically quiet street, baffled neighbors grew concerned and filed complaints. 'I was like, that's not a venue, how are they managing this, so, we were disturbed with all the traffic and the cars and the people and not knowing what's happening,' nearby resident Wendy Squires, told WBTV.
Police arrived to shut down the illegal chaotic event and identified Brown as the ringleader. Brown allegedly claimed he was the homeowner and the party was a celebration for his son's graduation. But he was arrested after cops found 'holes' in his story. The party-throwing landscaper was charged with breaking and entering, second-degree trespassing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, injury to real property and obtaining property by false pretenses.
Brown posted his $10,000 bond later that day - and has shown no regret for hosting the rager. 'I didn't break the law, I just broke some rules of probably what the owners didn't want me to do, but I didn't break the law,' Brown told WSOCTV9. He also admitted to throwing the party for his son and his friends for a profit. 'I just want to always do something where we could create an income and bring a positive environment for his friends,' he told the outlet.
That 'positive environment,' according to Lieutenant James Maye, included 'a lot of underage drinking' among the 300 to 400 guests. Brown claimed he was not charging an 'entry fee' but making guests pay for security - a story cops are not buying, with Maye saying they recovered more than $3,000. 'The owner knew I was supposed to be there,' Brown claimed, later adding he's 'like their son' and is at there house nearly every day.
He also expressed confidence that he did not lose a client over the matter. But the owners' son, Jante Burch, fiercely disputed those assertion. 'What I saw was a very egregious act in my mind. You had youth, they're smoking dope on my back porch, you're in the pool, you have violated,' Burch told WSOCTV9 after they spoke with Brown. 'I was very angry at the fact that this happened, I knew when I saw it that there was not way that my parents knew any of this.'
The distressed son said his parent's stunning home was left a 'hot mess' and debunked Brown's sentiment that he has close ties with the family. 'Bro you cut the grass, you're the hired help so you were that for that reason, and that reason only,' he said. 'He's delusional, he is definitely delusional. In fact, not only has he lost a client, he's probably lost a lot of other clients that he had potentially gotten in that neighborhood.'
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