TELEVISED USE OF DRUGS LEADS TO FATHER'S ARREST

Child-Endangerment Charges Follow Apparent Sharing Of Ecstasy With His Kids
On HBO Show.

An HBO documentary showing a father taking drugs with his teenage children
at a Sacramento house party led to the father's arrest this week on
suspicion of two counts of child endangerment, authorities said.

Authorities arrested Mokelumne Hill resident Scott Meyers, 43, Wednesday
after a Sacramento County judge signed a warrant for his arrest. The
warrant was issued based on footage from the HBO documentary "Small Town
Ecstasy" that aired April 28, Sacramento Police Sgt. Justin Risley said
Thursday.

"The reason we got involved is because a lot of the taped HBO footage
occurred in a private residence on La Riviera Drive," Risley said.

Calaveras County sheriff's deputies have been investigating the case,
turning information over to the Sacramento Police Department and the
Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.

Meyers was being held Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Sacramento
County jail, where he declined an interview. He was scheduled for
arraignment today on two felony counts.

The HBO documentary was taped two years ago and shows Meyers taking Ecstasy
with his 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, said Calaveras County
District Attorney Jeff Tuttle.

Ecstasy, the street name for MDMA, is an illegal hallucinogenic drug that
is popular at rave parties.

Based on what he saw, Tuttle said the charges filed against Meyers were
appropriate. Tuttle is also concerned about HBO's role in the project.

"I don't think it's appropriate to stand by and watch kids take drugs
without doing something about it," Tuttle said. "They were taking pictures
to make money off it. I don't like the morality of that."

HBO officials declined to talk about the arrest Thursday.

The footage from Sacramento in "Small Town Ecstasy" was taken in October
2000. Meyers was arrested in November 2000 by Calaveras County deputies for
possessing a small amount of Ecstasy and pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor
in March, the Modesto Bee reported. He was referred to a diversion program.

Meyers, who is divorced, has four children. When the tape was made, he had
custody of his daughter, then 15. A son, then 13, lived with his ex-wife.
The couple have two grown children.

The documentary shows Meyers participating with drugs in raves and house
parties with three of his children, including the two youngest, the Modesto
Bee reported.

Meyers' ex-wife, Sheryl Mettler, came forward with information for the
sheriff's investigation about Meyers' "new lifestyle" out of concern for
her children, said Calaveras Sheriff's Capt. Michael Walker. She was
unavailable for comment Thursday.

"We have interviewed a lot of people in this case, and people in the
community are outraged at his behavior and the position he placed his kids
in," Walker said. "His attitude was that he's a free spirit and his
children will grow up to make their own decisions."

On Thursday, the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department issued a news
release that said deputies are investigating possible charges of child
endangerment in Calaveras County for times when Meyers allowed minors to
consume alcoholic beverages in his home.