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200 arrested for drugs at Bonnaroo

Albert Walker

Albert Walker

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Feb 13, 2002
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200 arrested for drugs at Bonnaroo




By:JOE PATTON, Staff Writer June 17, 2003




With around 3,000 of the 80,000 fans left on a 590-acre site at the Bonnaroo music festival, the Coffee County Sheriff's Department alone had by mid-afternoon Monday made 36 arrests for major offenses plus 92 citations for the less serious infractions.
Sixty drug cases made by the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force and other arrests and citations by Manchester police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are not included.

All total, Graves said he expects to see more than 200 attending the festival facing drug charges.

"It will take two or three days to work up a complete tally sheet but we can safely report a large number of drug cases by arrest and citation," Graves said from the command post outside the festival grounds.

"Right now, there are three serious incidents to report, one an aggravated assault in which two people were stabbed by someone apparently on drugs, the second an accident in which someone stepped in front of a water truck, and the third a rape allegation now being investigated."

The festival-goer who was run over by the truck was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he was listed in guarded condition but is expected to recover, Graves said.

Arrests ran the gamut of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, DUI and felony drug charges.

Graves said authorities chose to issue citations for less serious infractions because there was no way the Coffee County Jail could handle that many people in a short span via the regular booking and bonding route.

Eighty-three citations were given for simple possession and lesser drug infractions. Two were given for indecent exposure, two for speeding and five for open containers of an alcoholic beverage.

More than 40 tanks of nitrous oxide, an extremely potent form of "laughing gas" used to fill balloons for inhaling it were among contraband seized by festival security personnel and local authororities.

"All total, you have to credit the Sheriff's Department, the Drug Task Force, Manchester police, Highway Patrol, additional officers from Tullahoma and Franklin County and the Bonnarro security with a fantastic job of maintaining order," District Attorney Mickey Layne said.

"The festival had its share of incidents but the four days in no way approached the chaos you would expect when 80,000 people come shoulder to shoulder under less than ideal living conditions. You also have to give a lot of credit to the vast majority who have drawn high praise for their good behavior and courteous manner."

Friction between the local residents and festival-goers was not noted, he added.

"All things considered, their conduct was for the most part admirable," Graves said.

"Manchester had about half the population of Chattanooga concentrated in less than one section of farmland and I'm proud of the way in which our people and the overwhelming majority in attendance conducted themselves."


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8361380&BRD=1614&PAG=461&dept_id=161052&rfi=6
 
I'm always surprised by how well these things can go. 80,000 is a lot of people, and it's reasonable to expect something to go wrong, but three reported incidents isn't bad at all. It's really a pretty polite group of people. During the Dead show there was a huge stadium light shining out on the crowd. In between songs the crowd began chanting "turn out the light," but stopped with the music started again. During the next song break the crowd chanted "Turn Out the Light, Please." The band did get the light turned of, and the crowd said thank you. That was the strangest crowd behavior I've ever seen.

200 arrests out of 80,000 isn't bad either. Considering that almost everyone could have been charged with something. I hope the police don't try to cash in next year with tent courts, and larger forces. That's normally when these things go bad.
 
Albert Walker said:

More than 40 tanks of nitrous oxide, an extremely potent form of "laughing gas" used to fill balloons for inhaling it were among contraband seized by festival security personnel and local authororities.
Click to expand...

An extremely potent form of "laughing gas"??? And what then is the less potent form of "laughing gas"?
 
hahaha....once the sun set you could hear the tanks everywhere! it was wonderful.
 
Judge dismisses Bonnaroo drug cases

Judge dismisses Bonnaroo drug cases



By BILL ZECHMAN
for The Tennessesan and Associated Press

McMINNVILLE, Tenn. — Citing constitutional concerns and questions of fairness, a Warren County judge Saturday dismissed minor drug charges — mostly simple possession of marijuana — against 24 out-of-state travelers nabbed here on their way to the Bonnaroo music festival.

General Sessions Judge Larry Ross made it clear that his court takes drug offenses seriously, but he agreed with defense arguments that the Warren County Sheriff's Department had conducted ''selective enforcement'' against motorists speeding toward the music fest in Coffee County.

Ross made his decision after less than an hour of testimony, mostly from sheriff's investigator Mark Martin, who testified that it was ''uncommon'' for him to be assigned to traffic radar duties as he and several deputies had been on Thursday morning.

Defendants, ranging in age from late teens to mid-30s, had traveled from Oregon, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Arizona, Virginia, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Florida. Only one was from Tennessee, a Knox County motorist, court records show. After court appearances yesterday, they are scheduled for another session next Tuesday.

''The appearance of this was very bad,'' said Mike Galligan, whose law firm offered free counsel and representation to the defendants. ''I'm quite sure the individual officers acted respectfully. The concept, however, was wrong. It doesn't appear fair, and it isn't fair.''

Erik Wielgos and friend Edward Ziemba were two of the people stopped.

Wielgos, 18, of Illinois, was charged with simple possession of marijuana because the illegal substance was found in his car. Wisconsin resident Ziemba, 19, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.

''He (the officer) asked if we were going to Bonnaroo,'' Wielgos said. ''I said yes and he said he knew we had pot. He said if we'd just give it to him he'd let us go with a citation. If not, he said he had a K-9 unit with him and if the dog found it then we'd be taken to jail. I haven't slept much over the past couple of days because of this. I just want to get it over with.''

Warren County Sheriffs Department conducted ''high visibility'' campaigns last week on Highway 55 and Highway 70. The purpose, Sheriff Jackie Matheny said, was to keep the roads safe during a period of increased traffic.

Matheny said he was disappointed in Ross' decision to dismiss the charges and was upset that the ''integrity of the officers is being questioned.''

http://www.tennessean.com/entertain...ives/03/06/34475022.shtml?Element_ID=34475022
 
"The concept, however, was wrong. It doesn't appear fair, and it isn't fair.''
Click to expand...

The tactic used to get the kids to give up their pot was wrong, yes, I agree.
It's very unfair to assume that because someone was going to Bonnaroo that they'd be carrying/consuming drugs. That's the bullshit part. But the problem is being able to prove that's the tactic the officers used...

They can bitch and argue all they want, the bottom line is they got caught with an illegal drug. Period. I'd be willing to bet my life they knew what they had was illegal, right? So how is there even any dispute? If they didnt want to get caught with drugs, they shouldnt have had the drugs!

They dont have to like the law, but as long as it IS a law, they'd better obey it.
 
BlueAdonis said:
The tactic used to get the kids to give up their pot was wrong, yes, I agree.
It's very unfair to assume that because someone was going to Bonnaroo that they'd be carrying/consuming drugs. That's the bullshit part. But the problem is being able to prove that's the tactic the officers used...

They can bitch and argue all they want, the bottom line is they got caught with an illegal drug. Period. I'd be willing to bet my life they knew what they had was illegal, right? So how is there even any dispute? If they didnt want to get caught with drugs, they shouldnt have had the drugs!

They dont have to like the law, but as long as it IS a law, they'd better obey it.
Click to expand...

Time to throw out the constitution?

They targeted a certain group of people.

I mean, men are more likely to commit crime, so men should be concentrated on? It's profiling plain and simple.
 
Don't you think that when these people packed up their stuff for the trip to Bonnaroo, the thought that they were carrying an illegal drug with them crossed their minds?

They took a chance at carrying something with them that they PROBABLY KNEW was illegal, and it backfired. You win some, you lose some..in this unfortunate case they got caught.

If they didnt want to face the consequences, why did they bring the drug with them in the first place? It's a chance they took. They can cry "Oh I was profiled, blah, blah, blah.." all they want. But what it all comes down to, is they had an illegal drug in their posession when they knew they shouldn't of. Period.
 
So, in essence you're saying that it's alright to search every hippy on their way to the festival with a drug-sniffing dog?
 
No, thats not at all what Im saying.

What Im getting at is these people willingly tempted fate the second they decided to bring an illegal drug with them, and they got caught. Sometimes you get away with toting drugs around with you, sometimes you don't.
 
I'm going to combine this thread with the other thread about the arrests in Bonnaroo.
 
I'm not a legal expert, but I think "reasonable suspicion" comes into play here. Just because you’re going to a music festival doesn't make it reasonable to suspect you of drug possession. So the police didn't have a good reason to begin searching. Now if he smelled something, or the guy’s eyes were red that's a different story.

Now I hear what you’re saying. They broke the law. They got caught. They shouldn't make up excuses, but this isn't really an excuse. It's the way our citizens are protected from excessive force of the state. By throwing out cases where the police fail to follow procedure, you force the police to respect those procedures. It's really the keystone of a free society.

Personally, I did the speed limit the whole way down.
 
BA after reading your post again I realize that you understand everything I just said, but I would look at this.

But the problem is being able to prove that's the tactic the officers used...
Click to expand...

This part of the testimony did prove that.

''He (the officer) asked if we were going to Bonnaroo,'' Wielgos said. ''I said yes and he said he knew we had pot.

This interaction asserts that the officers reasoning was directly linked to the festival.
 
its a shame you cant go to a concert nowadays without worrying about police k9's sniffing your shit.
 
Re: Re: 200 arrested for drugs at Bonnaroo

craig420 said:
An extremely potent form of "laughing gas"??? And what then is the less potent form of "laughing gas"?
Click to expand...

All I can say, is if Margaret Mead, at her age, smoked grass..... she's have ONE HELL OF A TRIP!! LOL LOL!
 
i was there... and cops were pretty damn lenient... they used horses for crowd control though, which always scares me a bit--i mean, they're fucking horses, they could kill someone if they get spooked by something and charge. i think the cops were lenient because the city of manchester REALLY needs this event, the area is pretty damn poor and the event brings in a ridiculous amount of money. they were especially easy on the vendors selling goods on shakedown street (drugs AND otherwise)... i mean, the sale of clothing, food, crystals, pipes, etc. was all illegal and tax-free money but in addition to the fact it woulda pissed a lot of people off if shakedown was shutdown who wouldnt return in following years im sure it would have been a MAJOR pain in the ass! anyway--the festival was HOT (both musically and literally, i burnt to a crisp)... tripped my ass off on some really good gift acid too from some really cool hippie chick during medeski martin & wood and the flaming lips.
 
200 arrests that aint a bad number considering upwards of 120,000 people where there. I remember at ozzfest there were 400 people arrested and there was only like 20,00 people there. I guess hippies are just better people.:)
 
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