Chef Says Festival Went Smoothly

Chief Says Festival Went Smoothly

MONDAY SEP 10 1973

The Blues Festival which Sunday night ended a three-day stand near Huron High School brought few major incidents, although a number of what Police Chief Walter E. Krasny called “undesirables" were attracted to the city for the affair.

“Generally I’d say things went off smoothly,” the chief said. “These events naturally draw some undesirables and we made about 20 arrests at the festival site and other places. In addition, there were a strongarm and an armed robbery and a number of minor thefts. But it could have been worse.”

Krasny said several hundred "Psycheldic Rangers" and the 50 officers he assigned to the festival kept traffic moving although a number of cars which were illegally parked were towed away. He said "numerous" residents near the Huron High School area filed complaints about loud music from the area.

He said two of the arrests made involved Ohio men who were selling marijuana at the festival site. Robert F. Meyer and Dwight Schumate, both 19, from Lima, Ohio were jailed on the sale charge and were ordered to post $2,000 bond.

The chief disputed one report that “thousands” of marijuana snokers circulated freely through the crowd inside the fenced-in festival grounds.

“I’ve no doubt that there was some marijuana inside but it wasn't that plentiful,” he said.

Krasny also said reports that none of his men was inside the festival gate were incorrect. He said his officers were present throughout the three-day affair and detectives were also on the scene.

He credited Traffic Patrolman Charles Fleming with the capture Sunday of two men who forced $180 from a youth who was attending the festival with his girl friend. The victim told officers the bandits seized his female companion and threatened to beat her unless he gave them money. He complied and the men fled.

A short time later patrolman Fleming stopped and arrested Gerald DeFrance and John Krotec on charges of unarmed robbery. The arrests were made on Huron Parkway not far from the festival scene, Chief Krasny said. The suspects were jailed.

Another festival spectator told police he was struck on the head and then sprayed in the face with a substance by two men who robbed him of $100. The robbers are still being sought.

He said four persons were arrested when they were seen selling pills for $1 each and three others were picked up with a paper bag filled with marijuana.

The chief said there were some gate crashers questioned and an unconfirmed report was made of an assault on a woman.

Chief Krasny said there was some difficulty with the sanitary facilities at the site but the Board of Health representatives were on hand to advise the sponsors of the event on that problem.

“There were no confrontations as such,” Krasny said. "It must be realized that this was a private business enterprise and the sponsors were responsible for seeing that the law was not violated. We were on hand to take action if it was.”