HSMF arrest story [OMFG!!]

[Cleantone]

Here is a summary of what has taken place and what could potentially happen to me:

On July 1st at approximately 10:40 pm I was detained by local police at the High Sierra Mountain Music Festival in Quincy, CA, because they observed someone handing me a "suspicious looking aluminum packet" which turned out to be a small marijuana brownie. At police headquarters I was searched against my consent and police located several more brownies in my possession. It should be noted that I treated the arresting officers with the utmost respect, even though I refused to talk to them since I did not want to incriminate myself.
The brownies were confiscated along with several other miscellaneous personal belongings, including all my personal cash (it was claimed that this cash was "revenues"). I was arrested, thrown in jail, and bail was set at $15,000.00. Not being able to post this abnormally high bail myself, and assuming that I would soon be arraigned and released on my own recognizance, I remained in jail for four days until Wednesday the 5th. On that date I was brought to court wearing a striped felony outfit, my feet and wrists shackled to each other. In court I was informed that the District Attorney is seeking a two year state prison term, regardless of the fact that I have a clean record and have never before been involved with the law. He is citing the following two felony charges:

- HS 11360. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section or as authorized by law, every person who transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away, or offers to transport, import into this state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, or attempts to import into this state or transport any marijuana shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of two, three or four years.
- HS 11359. Every person who possesses for sale any marijuana, except as otherwise provided by law, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.

My court-appointed attorney assured me that he could get this sentence reduced to a mere year. He was sure that there was no way that I would be set free until my trial several weeks from then. I told him I would consult the services of someone else.
Having now recognized the severity of problem I was facing, I immediately contacted my family from jail following my arraignment. My father supplied the bail money and my sister located a private NORML attorney who specializes in this area of the law, Eric Alan Berg. I was released on $15,000.00 bail after having spent five days in jail on the night of Thursday, July 6th.
The full severity of the problem I am facing was not revealed to me until the afternoon of Friday, July 7th, when I was informed by Attorney Berg that, since I am not a US citizen (I'm German, but have lived here for over a decade), I would certainly face deportation from the United States if found guilty of any felony charges. After serving my sentence in state prison, I would be transferred to federal prison where I would remain for an additional two years before being deported. I would never in my life be able to return to the US to visit my beloved family, girlfriend, and the numerous friends and acquaintances I have come to love over the last ten years.
If found guilty, I will lose everything: My freedom, family, friends, and the right to remain in the country I have been calling my home for over ten years. My aspirations of starting a professional mechanical engineering career with the degree I recently received from Northeastern University would obviously also be ruined. The five year investment of energy, effort, and money that it took to graduate near the top of my class would be rendered completely useless. All because of the alleged sale of a marijuana brownie in a state that has already widely legalized marijuana.


Allow me to draw a few quick preliminary conclusions: I want to proliferate the points I am making throughout the press and various social channels. This is only possible with the help of friends. We all must act now.

Without the help of my family and friends I would still be in jail without any way out. The system would have completely swallowed me, much like it has swallowed countless millions in the past, many of whom are completely innocent but are unable to fight because of insufficient funds. After all, not everyone has family that is willing to dish out a quick 30 grand for bail and legal expenses with only a day's notice; a sad confirmation that you are absolutely NOONE in the eyes of our system unless you have money.

Now why do they lock people up? Obviously I'm a completely harmless person and there is therefore absolutely no benefit in throwing me in jail, right? WRONG. An accountant who sat in jail with me explained it to me: Fixed costs for a jail are mortgages, electricity, wages for the guards, etc. They are constant, no matter how many people are incarcerated, and are therefore part of the county budged. He told me that our beautiful state of California pays the county jail approximately $125 a day for every inmate incarcerated. Variable costs per inmate are almost none, about five dollars of food per day and perhaps one or two dollars for clothing and toothbrushes, etc. All the labor (i.e. cleaning, cooking, and washing) is done by the inmates and is therefore free. Hence, the county gets almost $120 a day for every inmate. This is where the police department comes in - their duty is to keep the prison full at all times in order to guarantee a constant money flow to the county. And those boys do a great job of stuffing the place with people like me, some other random potheads, and a few alcoholics who have taken a wrong turn in life and need rehabilitation, not incarceration. Combine the Jail's income with the money raised from hefty court-fines and county attorneys, and you are seeing only the tip of the Prison Industry iceberg.
I want to take this fight to the streets - what happened at High Sierra is absolutely ridiculous. Out of the approximately 5000 people attending, 150 were arrested and booked by the Plumas County Police Department. Yes, that's one out of 33 people. How would you feel about having a one in 33 chance of getting arrested at a festival? Go to 33 festivals like High Sierra throughout your lifetime, and statistics predicts that you will get arrested. But High Sierra is no isolated incident. Disproportionately high police presence is becoming commonplace at events such as Burning Man and even at some recent Rainbow Gatherings.

We are too educated and proactive to let this foe quietly consume us. What has happened to me must not happen to others. We have to change what's going on right now. Too many beautiful lives are wasted behind walls, too many children ripped from their parents? grasp and sent into foster care... in short this system creates revenues by crudely destroying the lives of the poor and those who have problems. They are trying to destroy mine, but I will fight to the end ? something that they don?t expect.
I ask every one of you who read this not to quietly pass by and do nothing. At this rate, there is a good chance that sooner or later, the system will wrap its long fingers around you, yes YOU!

You have every reason to be very concerned,

- FeLiX

[diesel]

im going to play devils advocate, or in this case, the DA, and say, he was doing something illegal, right?

[francis]

im going to play devils advocate, or in this case, the DA, and say, he was doing something illegal, right?

i was thinking the same thing too. maybe they over-reacted, but yea, he was doing something illegal. just because the state has "legalized" marijuana (which it hasn't) doesn't mean that all marijuana users are allowed to use it, assuming he's talking about the medical marijuana laws. on another note, that is a shitty situation to be in just from pot.

[JEFFfromNC]

I am going to agree and say yes he was doing something illegal.
But damn, this is too harsh of a possible sentence for ingesting/smoking or even selling some pot at a festival. I think it's a sad day for society when we lose good people for stupid offences like this.

[lumpy]

Unfortunately that guy was doing something illegal, but in my opinion, the police were also acting in illegal ways throughout the four days (if they weren't technically illegal, they should be).

I'll post more later...but here's high sierra's response (from an e-mail earlier today):

Usually we come back from the festival, recuperate, unpack, and focus on what went well and what improvements should be made for the following year's festival. This year has been a little different. While the commentary on the event itself has been positive, the outpouring of feedback regarding law enforcement behavior at the festival has been most prominent and the festival’s future in Quincy has come into serious question. This is not the first time we have heard such complaints.

Despite our consistent endeavors to present a safe and secure festival the application of law enforcement at High Sierra seems to have worsened gradually over the past few years, a fact to which many of our patrons can attest. Until this point, we have been quietly working with the Board of Supervisors, the District Attorney's office, and other appropriate county officials to improve the way that local law enforcement applies and enforces the law at our festival. Approaching High Sierra 2006, we felt optimistic that our proactive efforts would result in an improved situation. Unfortunately, after the first night of the fest it became abundantly clear that this would not be the case.

Many of you have expressed your own concerns to the local newspaper and appropriate county officials. Rest assured that your voices are being heard in Plumas County and we encourage you to keep the truthful accounts coming. Your individual stories can indeed speak more poignantly and effectively than a paraphrase of your words delivered by the festival. If you or anyone you know was involved in or was witness to what could be considered inappropriate conduct and have not yet shared your experience, we encourage you to please make a formal statement through our online contact form (you may do so anonymously if you wish). These testimonials are imperative… without proper documentation and a way to quantify the circumstances, the process degenerates into hearsay.

There were a total of 47 arrests and citations made at the festival. At face value, 47 incidents for a 4-day, 8,000 person event doesn’t make for overwhelming evidence of law enforcement overstepping their authority. Yet those numbers are deceiving when the harassment and general heavy-handedness is taken into account. Unfortunately, the arrest numbers compile the bulk of the hard data that is looked to as county officials weigh the facts and decide whether changes need to be made. This is where your personal accounts can make the difference in painting a more accurate picture of any and all rights violations.

It is clear to us that the situation has reached a tipping point. We basically have two options; we can remain in Quincy and continue working within the local community to improve things or we can move the festival. We will be pursuing both avenues and carefully weighing their consequences in the coming months. At this time we have resumed communications with the Board of Supervisors and made it abundantly clear that without significant changes in law enforcement practices, High Sierra Music Festival cannot continue in Plumas County. As we also consider our legal options, we’d like to put a call out to any festival-friendly attorneys who might be willing to work on a pro bono basis to advise us on our situation. Offers of legal assistance can be directed to our online contact form or we can also be reached by phone at 510.420.1529.

Even as we explore every option and seek new festival frontiers, we remain hopeful that we will be able to affect change and reach an amicable solution that will allow the festival to remain in Quincy. Since making our home in Plumas County, we’ve built innumerable positive relationships within the community, earned the trust of a majority of county officials, and honed our logistical game plan to efficiency. Moving the festival is not only a major logistical undertaking, there is no guarantee that moving to another location will produce different results. We have a few ideas, but if you know of a site that might be a good fit for High Sierra please let us know… we are certainly open to suggestions. Keep in mind that accessibility and proximity to amenities are important considerations.

Finally, please know that we hear your concerns and that they echo our own. This is an important time for the festival and we are faced with some critical decisions. As we move forward, please trust that we are doing what we can to ensure the future of High Sierra, maintain the festival’s integrity, and protect the rights of everyone in our festival community.

Thank you for being part of our High Sierra family. Stay tuned, and stay in touch.

[jibooer]

Poor frickin guy - however, as they say, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime"....

Even though it is a harsh punishment and the search and incarceration are questionable issues, one has to be aware not only of the laws of the land, but that we are all targets at these festivals. The Wakarusa festival had a similar set of circumstances where the cops desecended upon the grounds in full force and busted tons of people, then published their names, addresses and offences in the local paper!

I sincerely feel bad for the guy as it really screws his life up, but he doesn't seem to know the difference between decriminalized and legalized. I am pretty sure that pot isn't LEGAL there, although some juristictions turn their heads to minor offences. Unfortunately the law is the law and until the state and federal government comes to a consensus on how stupid these marijuana laws are, people have to use their heads, open their eyes and realize how they are being seen by the world outside of this community attending the HSMF.

It is a good thing that HSMF is taking a stand, but I am sure their organizers aren't really holding the festival so people can eat and sell happy cakes....

At any rate, with him being a foreign national and a holder of an engineering degree should have been more careful. Cops don't really care who you are or where you're from. you can be as philosophical as you want, but the MAN don't want you to feed your head.

SO WHAT ARE THE LESSONS WE LEARNED HERE - a) you don't need drugs to have a good time; b) pay attention to what you are doing

I do feel sorry for him and I wish him luck...

[lumpy]

yes and yes.

with wakarusa, apparently the heavy police presence was not only supported by the fest promoters, but encouraged.....that makes me sad. I understand that laws still exist in festival life, but an agressive police presence easily dampens the spirit of the place for everyone attending. Festivals can be a hell of a lot of fun without drugs, but how about without good people around you?

[jibooer]

I absolutely agree w/ you on the fact that cool people around you make for a beautiful experience, but the bottom line is that if the authorites think that there is illegal shit going on, then they will always interfere.

Using drugs and/or selling them isn't the purpose for attending music festivals/shows and therefore one shouldn't assume that just because our community is open-minded when it comes to weed that the rest of the world will accomodate.

You won't get any arguments from me about police brutality or their dirided interpretations of the laws, but a fact is a fact, and the fact is that people outside our community don't approve of a large groups of people participating in drug-use and trafficking in their backyards where the festivals are being held. This is not to say that all those people in attendence are druggies, but that the media concentrates on those negative stories and they reflect badly on the community as a whole.

I appreciate this thread as it really points out some inherent problems within our community in regards to drugs.

[headnugg]

I started to hear reports of strong police presence at high sierra last year, from a friend of mine who was smoking at his campsite at like 4 in the morning, turns around and there's a cop behind him. Scary. I've always wanted to go to HS, to me HS is the berkfest of the left coast. It seems like a chill environment with cool people, beautiful lush green grass and obviously great music. But I won't go to a festival that is patrolled by cops. And festivals definitely don't have to be patrolled by cops. I don't know if laws differ from state to state, but I don't ever remember seeing any cops at any of the Phish fests, Berkfest, Gatherings, or whatever. I know that things are really getting serious this year after reading that HS press release regarding the situation.

The situation that this German cat got caught in is pretty shitty. But unfortunately, cops don't like hippies and they don't like hippies with pot. And I would say that California is probably one of the worst states to get caught with pot in, and not vice versa. Yes, they have made it available medically, but even so they still arrest and harass the doctors and patients that use and prescribe pot. Not to mention 3 strikes and you're out. Cali is not a good place to get caught with pot. Alaska is.

Anyway, I've been waiting for years to hit up HS, but I won't be going any time soon until they remedy this situation. And it's almost kind of sad in a way that the reason I won't go to a festival is simply because there's cops there, but it's pretty hard to enjoy yourself when you know you could be popped at any time......

[lumpy]

excuse the tangent:

High Sierra is unlike Berkfest in almost every way (at least the 2 berkfest's I attended, 2000 and 2002). For starters, this festival is entirely family friendly with the inclusion of a day time kids stage, along with arts, crafts, and daily parades (everyone is welcome at any of these obviously). Vending is pretty strictly prohibited unless your an official vendor. Drug sales are minimal, and virtually non-existant if you were to compare to berkfest, let alone a phish fest. Also, the orginazation of the whole festival is top-notch, something that seemed pretty lacking at berkfest (2002 was MUCH better than 2000 however).

In regards to cops at phish fests, you must just not have seen them. From patrolling cops on horses, to golf carts, to foot patrols. There were most certainly cops at all of em.

What I'm really trying to say is, come to high sierra. You'll love it. There's some good activity going on from the high sierra folks, as well as from fest-goers....hopefully this next year will see significant improvements, not only at high sierra, but at concerts and festivals nation wide.

[stephen]

I can't believe some of the responses here. Cleantone is probably responsible for 9 out of the 10 Slip shows in all of your collections and this is how you support a brother? "after all, he did break the law..." C'mon, we're talking about a couple of brownies here. I say it's time to rally around a man who has been kind enough to share the music with all of us. My thoughts and prayers are with you Mr. Tone.

[Pstehley]

uhhmmm... it wasn't clinton that got nabbed....

[Phrazz]

Although the subject is blatantly obvious, some people won't admit they've already given away their civil liberties in the name of "security" (I don't feel safer, do you?). What cops were doing at High Sierra and other festivals (according to testimony) was blatantly illegal. However, without direct evidence (photo, video, etc), these cases are very hard to prove.

However, being to only two High Sierras I'm not an expert, but I did notice the police more and had some stares and glares for no reason. I'm pretty clean cut when I go to festivals, but there are cops who "hate hippies" no matter how nice we are. These cops should not be at festivals.

A few hippie-hating cops is all it takes to get someone seriously injured or killed (case in point Giants Stadium, LA forum, etc where kids were killed by thugs with badges). Cops can be bad people, too, but it's worse when they take out their anger on the innocent.

That's what's going on here even if you think someone is breaking the law. If I get a speeding ticket, that doesn't justify execution. Similarly, the punishment should fit the crime, not "if you can't do the time" because why should I do 10 years for a relatively minor crime.

These mantras are created by the Law to brainwash people into giving up all right altogether. When cops can routinely tap phones, search cars without probably cause, beat the living shit out of kids for mouthing off, and commit all sorts of heinous crimes in the name of "the Law", then we are in a Police State and we have to resist this or society as a whole will fail (anarchy or fascism results).

Cleantone was quoting someone else...I think you misread the post. I read every single one of these posts on the High Sierra board as well as the ones on Tribe and if there are other boards with original info, please let me know. Being informed is a giant step towards taking action.

Frankly I would vote to move High Sierra to Santa Cruz. Based on the demographics of Quincy, it's a hick town with hick cops and the magnificent work by the High Sierra organization does not deserve such simple-mindedness. Maybe the contract is up in a couple of years and they can move...or maybe they stay and deal with the situation. But there is a situation and it's definitely stacked against the hippies, regardless of how family-oriented they are (people with kids at shows are the only ones who can have a good time and not get incarcerated?).

This brownie guy was a German expatriate and may not have all the rights of an American citizen, but that's also a form of racism in essence. They like to overreact in order to prove a point. This is worsened if you're not polite to the bastards trying to arrest you. You can stand up for what's right, but do in a civil fashion or it just won't work (in a very bad way).

Anyhow, things were better by the numbers this year, but worse by the actions. Even still, High Sierra is the tamest festival anywhere and there's no way to compare it with Berserkfest (where people were openly slicing tents to steal bags and commiting serious felonies instead of this nickel-and-dime crap where bored cops like to show off).

-Phrazz

[magpie]

i'm curious cleantone, where did this story orginate?

there's more stories and discussion on the future of high sierra here
and here

[Cleantone]

I think I just stumbled onto it at taperssection dot com. It was not origionally posted there though. I thought it came off of the HSMF message boards but do not know for sure.

P.S. Sorry I didn't make it more clear that this was NOT my own experience. Though I have known about HSMF since Schleigho and The Slip first got out there in 1998 I have not been to ONE HSMF.