Despite record crowds, arrests at 11Fest remained consistent with past years.
Ohio Investigative Unit agents arrested 109 people at 11Fest. Most of the charges were related to underage alcohol violations. Other charges included furnishing, felony drug abuse, fake forms of identification and resisting arrest.
The Athens County Sheriff’s Office made one arrest.
“There were no more arrests than usual,” Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said. “At the end it got kind of, not out of control, but there were more people this year, and it created some difficulties for us. But the guys there just adapt and overcome.”
The sheriff’s office was the only unit responsible for covering the event, Athens County Sheriff’s Department Detective Brice Fick said. The department had between 20 to 25 officers working the event.
“The kids were compliant,” Kelly said. “If they were drunk and disorderly, they were handled with. There were a number of kids that were transported to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Outside of the number of kids there and the amount of trouble it provides logistically, we didn’t have a problem with the kids.”
All in all, Kelly was pleased with how the fest-goers acted at 11Fest as well as how his department handled the event.
“Now granted, (fest-goers) throw bottles, trash, they get drunk and all that stuff,” Kelly said. “As opposed to some of the ones in the city where there’s terror and people are burning couches and that. My guys do a very good job of controlling the situation.”
Mike Presseo, a sophomore studying petroleum engineering at Marietta College, is excited to return for the next installment of Number Fest.
“It was awesome,” Presseo said. “It was a really great experience, almost overwhelming. I had been here before for Halloween, and that was pretty crazy, too. Definitely coming back again.”
as299810@ohiou.edu
