(May 29, 2012, JUSTIN GLAWE and ANDY KRAVETZ)
CHILLICOTHE —
A fun-filled weekend at Three Sisters Park for tens of thousands was a busy three-day span for area law enforcement.
Officers from the Illinois State Police, sheriff's departments in Woodford and Peoria counties, the Peoria Heights and Chillicothe police departments and the Multi-County Narcotics Enforcement Agency arrested more than 300 festival-goers, most on misdemeanor drug or driving under the influence charges.
Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy said Tuesday about 290 people were booked into the jail over the weekend.
While MEG worked inside the festival, the five other police agencies made stops on surrounding roads.
"There's a lot of good people who attend these concerts, so our main focus is those who are there specifically to sell drugs," said MEG Director Rene Sandoval on Tuesday. "From talking to people and looking at last year's stats, the drugs of choice seem to be Ectasy, magic mushrooms and LSD."
MEG made 47 arrests inside the park, including one man who had eight pounds of magic (technically known as psilocybin) mushrooms in his possession. The mushrooms had a street value of $44,800, according to Sandoval.
While the majority of drugs confiscated by MEG were of the psychedelic variety, state troopers seized a large amount of nitrous oxide. In total, 22 canisters, weighing from six to 20 pounds, were taken from campers on their way into, or out of, the park.
Additionally, troopers issued 258 citations and 304 written warnings, seized $5,500 in cash from one man who had several large canisters of nitrous and confiscated more than 70 grams of marijuana from several campers.
Trooper Dustin Pierce said a new version of one of the "drugs of choice" was discovered by his officers this year.
"Most of the Ecstasy seized this time was in powder form," Pierce said. "Normally, it's a tablet. I've never seen it in a powder before."
The Chillicothe Police Department made 53 arrests on such charges as possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana both less than and greater than 2.5 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a news release. The department seized cocaine, Vicodin, MDMA (Ecstasy), psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana and hash. In addition, the department confiscated $2,686.
Peoria County State's Attorney Jerry Brady praised MEG's efforts this year, saying its intervention efforts were "very successful." The county's top prosecutor noted that more than 10 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and 103 grams of LSD and other drugs were seized, along with some $17,000.
Officers from the Illinois State Police, sheriff's departments in Woodford and Peoria counties, the Peoria Heights and Chillicothe police departments and the Multi-County Narcotics Enforcement Agency arrested more than 300 festival-goers, most on misdemeanor drug or driving under the influence charges.
Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy said Tuesday about 290 people were booked into the jail over the weekend.
While MEG worked inside the festival, the five other police agencies made stops on surrounding roads.
"There's a lot of good people who attend these concerts, so our main focus is those who are there specifically to sell drugs," said MEG Director Rene Sandoval on Tuesday. "From talking to people and looking at last year's stats, the drugs of choice seem to be Ectasy, magic mushrooms and LSD."
MEG made 47 arrests inside the park, including one man who had eight pounds of magic (technically known as psilocybin) mushrooms in his possession. The mushrooms had a street value of $44,800, according to Sandoval.
While the majority of drugs confiscated by MEG were of the psychedelic variety, state troopers seized a large amount of nitrous oxide. In total, 22 canisters, weighing from six to 20 pounds, were taken from campers on their way into, or out of, the park.
Additionally, troopers issued 258 citations and 304 written warnings, seized $5,500 in cash from one man who had several large canisters of nitrous and confiscated more than 70 grams of marijuana from several campers.
Trooper Dustin Pierce said a new version of one of the "drugs of choice" was discovered by his officers this year.
"Most of the Ecstasy seized this time was in powder form," Pierce said. "Normally, it's a tablet. I've never seen it in a powder before."
The Chillicothe Police Department made 53 arrests on such charges as possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana both less than and greater than 2.5 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a news release. The department seized cocaine, Vicodin, MDMA (Ecstasy), psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana and hash. In addition, the department confiscated $2,686.
Peoria County State's Attorney Jerry Brady praised MEG's efforts this year, saying its intervention efforts were "very successful." The county's top prosecutor noted that more than 10 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and 103 grams of LSD and other drugs were seized, along with some $17,000.
The Summer Campers who appeared in court looked a bit in a daze. Some wore the jumpsuits of a Peoria County Jail inmate while others still had on their tie-dyed shirts. One didn't have a shirt on. Nearly all tried to have their bond lowered and Judge David Brown lowered the bonds of many. But for the larger drug amounts, he stuck to the prosecutors' recommendations.
Several faced nonprobationable offenses for allegedly having larger amounts of drugs. One couple, Patrick Smith, 49, and Sarah Kiergaard, 39, both of St. Louis, were accused of having a large amount of psilocybin mushrooms which were cooked into several food items.
Another man, Igor Siskin, 27, of St. Louis was accused of having nearly 200 doses of LSD. MDMA (Ecstasy) was the most prevalent drug in the charges, with LSD coming in second.
(Peoria Journal Star, http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1347549274/More-than-300-Summer-Campers-arrested-by-area-police-agencies)
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