Festival arrests down despite attendance increase
More than 100 citations — mostly for drug or alcohol infractions — were issued and eight arrests made during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s first weekend, including a man who allegedly stole more than 100 cell phones from concertgoers, according to statistics released today by Indio police.
Police also issued 155 traffic-related citations between Friday and Monday. The numbers were down slightly from last year’s initial festival weekend when 128 people were arrested or issued citations.
Check out more festival coverage
The Indio Police Department issued 65 citations for illegal possession of a controlled substance; 15 for public intoxication, 34 for minors in possession of a fake ID; and three for providing alcohol to a minor.
One person was arrested for DUI. Police also arrested two people for grand theft, one for petty theft and four for embezzlement and conspiracy in connection with the theft of about $10,000 in cash from a food truck they were working, according to Indio police Sgt. Daniel Marshall.
The highest-profile arrest involved 36-year-old New York resident Reinaldo De Jesus Henao, who was taken into custody Friday after being tailed by several festivalgoers who noticed their phones were missing. They utilized the “Find My Phone” iPhone app, which provides users with the GPS location of their device, to locate Henao.
He was allegedly found with a backpack containing more than 100 cell phones, which have since been returned to their rightful owners or turned over to the lost-and-found area at the concert site, and was released Saturday on $10,000 bail.
A second New York man was also arrested after allegedly being found with 10 stolen cell phones, Marshall said. Of the 155 traffic citations issued, 71 were for “various motor vehicle driving violations” and 84 for misusing a disabled person placard.
According to Marshall, the numbers overall are down from years past, despite the festival being better attended, and marked the first time in the event’s history that no one was arrested for selling a controlled substance.
Following the Indio City Council’s approval to increase the festival’s attendance cap from 99,000 to 125,000, the festival weekend drew about 110,000 people each day, Marshall said.
Overall festival arrests/citations increased last year from 226 in 2015 to 270 in 2016, both of which occurred prior to the city council’s attendance cap increase.
