Deputies, SWAT stop rave party in its tracks

By JOHN HUTHMACHER

May 22, 2003

Scheduling an illegal rave party on Saturday at Barley Flats Road mountain station in Angeles National Forest -- the helicopter base about 12 miles above LCF used by Montrose Search and Rescue for training -- probably wasn't the best venue choice the promoters could have made.

But scheduling it the same day as Crescenta Valley Sheriff Station's Open House? Now that was a party destined to be grounded in a hurry.

Deputies arrested two people and escorted an estimated 50 would-be party goers away from the location Saturday afternoon as members of the department's SWAT team helped to clear buildings that were already being occupied by teens and young adults waiting for the nighttime bash to materialize, said Sgt. Brian Schoonmaker of CV Station.

"When deputies got up there, they found it was an illegal gathering and basically asked everybody to leave," Schoonmaker said. "Everyone was cooperative. We didn't deploy SWAT for this. They just happened to be available [because of the Open House]."

Two people were arrested -- one, on an outstanding warrant, the other, for possessing brass knuckles -- and a patrol car remained at the scene to turn away others hoping to attend the event.

Those already on scene told deputies the party had been well publicized, both through fliers and on the Internet. "There was even an 800 number you could call that explained directions on how to get up to the place," Schoonmaker said.

A typical rave party is geared toward a teen to young adult crowd and is characterized by loud music and the availability of hallucinative drugs such as ecstasy, Schoonmaker said.

"A lot of guys [at rave parties] like to do the date-rape type drugs, taking advantage of the young ladies," he said. "Plus they're usually held illegally on grounds that don't belong to anybody that's there, so they are trespassing. Those are our concerns."

No drugs were found at the scene Saturday.

A man who was taking money from patrons as they arrived reportedly slipped away before deputies could question him, Schoonmaker said.

"No one got their money back," he said. "Kids get ripped off because nobody knows who is organizing it and they just run off with the money."

Schoonmaker said early intervention by deputies stopped the party in its tracks. "It was supposed to be in the evening," he said. "It was just getting started. I don't think everybody who was supposed to be out there got there. We were able to turn everybody around before it got started."

Unlike the party that never was, the Open House at CV Station was a huge success, Schoonmaker said.

"A lot more people showed up at the Open House than at the Rave Party," he said. "It went well."

Copyright 2003,  La Canada Valley Sun