Pubdate: Tue, 22 Mar 2005
Source: Flint Journal (MI)
Copyright: 2005 Flint Journal
Contact:  http://www.flintjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/836
Note: Prefers to print letters from people in the area of The Flint Journal
Authors: Ken Palmer and Bryn Mickle
Related: City of Flint website http://www.cityofflint.com/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raves.htm (Raves)

Police Had All the 'Luck' In Club Raid

RAVE BUST

FLINT - The rave was called "Getting Lucky."

But the 130 people who attended Saturday night's party at Club What's
Next were feeling anything but lucky when police officers swept in and
arrested everybody early Sunday.

"A lot of the people were so stoned, they didn't even know the police
were there," said a Flint sergeant who coordinated the raid and asked
to be unnamed because he works undercover. "We had to convince them we
were really police officers."

Seventeen people - including promoter Jell-Oh of Dancing Jell-Oh
Productions - were arrested on felony drug charges and lodged in the
Genesee County Jail pending formal charges, police said.

The other partygoers were cited and released for misdemeanor drug
possession or frequenting a drug establishment.

The event had been promoted over the Internet for about three months
and drew people from all over southern Michigan and other states,
police said.

Often held in warehouses and spread by word of mouth, raves are
typified by thumping music, strobe lights, disc jockeys, dancing and
drugs such as Ecstasy.

The "Getting Lucky" rave had been advertised on techno-dance Web sites
since January and promised a new DJ every hour from 9 p.m. Saturday
until 4 a.m. Sunday.

DJs including Halluci-Nate, Sparkimus Prime, White Rabbit, Captain
Cheddar and California's Dj Primo were on the bill with a $10 cover
charge.

Police, however, had information that the rave would feature more than
just pounding bass lines and drum loops.

Two undercover officers and three civilian police agents went in under
the guise of ravers and were able to buy three hits of Ecstasy,
blotter acid and a psychedelic mushroom inside the club, police said.

Once the drugs were bought, police raided the club about 1:40 a.m.
Sunday and found hundreds of Ecstasy pills, LSD and mushrooms, along
with the so-called date-rape drug GHB and the animal tranquilizer Ketamine.

Police plan to test water bottles seized from clubgoers to see if they
contain the colorless, odorless GHB.

Marijuana and cocaine also were seized from club patrons, police
said.

Ecstasy is a popular drug at raves because it stimulates nerve
endings, making users euphoric when they dance to the bass-heavy music.

Police said they targeted the party for the drugs - not the
dancing.

"We're not against techno music and bass," said Flint Police Chief
Gary Hagler.

The rave drew partygoers from Saginaw, Clarkston, St. Clair Shores and
Durand, as well as DJs from Ohio.

The raid could cost Club What's Next, 2511 W. Pasadena Ave., its
liquor license, officials said.

The club was fined $600 in 2001 and threatened with license suspension
after the state Liquor Control Commission alleged the owner had failed
to maintain appropriate records for four years and had not cooperated
with investigators.

The records were ultimately turned over to the LCC, and the state
opted not to suspend the license.

Club What's Next owner John Williams has not been charged in Sunday's
raid, but police plan to notify the LCC of the incident and
allegations that the club sold alcohol to minors at the rave. One
16-year-old was arrested, and police say most of the partygoers were
in their late teens or early 20s.

The Flint Journal was unable to reach Williams on Monday.

Rave busts in Flint have been relatively rare as the parties usually
are held under the police radar.

In 1999, about 80 people were arrested at a rave party in an abandoned
house on W. Second Street in Flint.

Seven people in the house were charged with drug possession, and
police wrote about 80 tickets for frequenting a drug house, a
misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Last weekend's investigation was conducted by Flint's Special
Operations and Crime Area Target Team units, along with the Flint Area
Narcotics Group and the Genesee County Sheriff's Posse.

Officials pointed to the raid as proof that Genesee County's three
drug enforcement teams, sometimes considered to be competing with one
another, can work together.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert J. Pickell said ravers can expect future
visits from the police.

"There's no way they can keep something like this from us," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake