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. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake