Funk Fest" became one big bust this weekend at the Church of Universal Love and Music.
The Fayette County Drug Task Force conducted a drug raid this weekend on the self-proclaimed nondenominational church's 147-acre property in Bullskin. It resulted in the arrests of 23 people and the seizure of enough marijuana, hash brownies, hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD, laughing gas and drug paraphernalia to pack two storage trailers with a capacity of about 3,000 pounds, District Attorney Nancy Vernon said Sunday.
Dozens of bags, boxes and plastic cases containing contraband were on display at a news conference.
"What you see here is a fraction of what we found," Vernon said.
The two trailers used to pack up the suspected drugs belonged to two people arrested on charges of running makeshift drug paraphernalia shops, said Mark Brooks, the county's assistant district attorney in charge of drug enforcement.
"We weren't sure how much (drugs and paraphernalia) there would be to find before we got there," Brooks said. "By the time we were done seizing everything, we decided we had to seize the trailers for use under the state's Forfeiture Act just to haul everything out of there."
The raid began about 5 p.m. Saturday at the site where church founder and property owner William "Willie" Pritts received clearance from county officials to resume holding concerts.
During a lengthy property dispute that began in 2005 and ended this year, Pritts, the members of the church and many of those attending concerts there argued that their form of religious worship entails listening to bands.
This was the fifth concert at the site since Pritts dropped a religious-freedom lawsuit against the county, which had claimed the group's concerts violated zoning laws.
Between 500 and 600 people were dancing, partying and socializing Saturday to the sounds of bands such as Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk.
Brooks said undercover agents purchased illegal drugs at concerts on the site on May 16 and July 4. That provided probable cause for county Judge Ralph C. Warman to sign a search warrant.
"This was the most tactically complex drug raid I've ever conducted, the most complex warrant I've ever issued," Brooks said. "We're talking a 42-acre area with a number of buildings and vendors and a lot of people."
Thirty officers divided into five teams upon entering the site's concert grounds to explore five main areas: the stage, two camping areas, a vendor area and an office area.
Upon seeing the police, many concert-goers fled to surrounding woods, leaving behind large amounts of marijuana, unspecified pills and baked goods laced with drugs, Brooks said.
One person was charged with possessing four 60-pound tanks of nitrous oxide he was selling in large balloons for $5, Brooks said. Another was found to be in possession of five tabs of lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, a powerful hallucinogen. Another had $3,000 cash from selling hallucinogenic mushrooms, authorities said.
The 23 suspects were arraigned overnight Saturday before Uniontown District Judge Joseph George on drug-related charges. All were taken to Fayette County Prison. Several were released on bond yesterday, a prison official said.
Standing near the entrance to the site yesterday, Pritts said he did not care for the manner in which the raid was conducted.
"It was ugly," Pritts said. "My kids are terrified of police now."
Vernon said she would spend today preparing paperwork for preliminary hearings. She had little comment on the future of the church.
"We're not the zoning office. We're a law enforcement agency," Vernon said. "As an aside, it does a good public service to aid the county in eliminating what has proven to be a major operation here."
