Arrested concert fans pack Champaign jail November 22, 1997 - The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) By Associated Press The county jail was still overflowing with prisoners Friday, two days after police made 42 drug arrests outside a jam-packed Phish concert at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall. "We were at capacity prior to this, so we just gave them mattresses and put them in holding cells" after their arrests Wednesday night, said Chief Deputy Sheriff Gary Turner. Of the 42 arrested, 25 had posted bonds by Friday. But many of the other 17 are charged with felonies and were having trouble raising money for their bonds, which ranged up to $10,000. All of the arrests were made in the carnival-like scene in parking lots outside the concert. Those arrested ranged in age from 17 to the mid 20s. About half were from out of state, and a minority are students at Illinois, officials said. Officers seized marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD and one tank of nitrous oxide. The concert was sold out with more than 16,000 people inside the Assembly Hall. The Vermont-based band, like the Grateful Dead, has legions of faithful fans who follow the tour, creating a party atmosphere outside their performances. "We had about the same number of officers working the detail at the concert this year as last year, but the quantities of drugs we encountered certainly exceeded what we previously found," UI police Capt. Krystal Fitzpatrick said. Officers seized an estimated 445 grams or nearly one pound of suspected hallucinogenic mushrooms; 161 grams of marijuana; and 843 doses of LSD, Fitzpatrick said. Police also seized $4,800 cash. Police who encountered people smoking a single marijuana cigarette confiscated it and let the people go with a warning, Fitzpatrick said. The intent of officials planning the drug detail was to focus on people selling drugs, not everyone smoking marijuana, UI police Capt. Rick Kallmayer advised officers before the concert. Article © 1997 The Patriot Ledger