One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Real-Life Comedy: Dude Tries To Sneak Into HARD Summer By Stealing Shirt Off Employee's Back
Hard Summer 2014 at Whittier Narrows Recreation Park (Photo via HARD's Facebook)
Authorities arrested a bunch of music fans over the weekend at HARD Summer at Whittier Narrows Recreation Park, including a dude who tried sneaking into the fest in a ridiculous way.
L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. deputy Johnie Jones told LAist that of the 67 arrested on Saturday, there were seven felony arrests. One of those taken into custody was a guy who allegedly stole the shirt off of an event worker's back in an effort to sneak into the sold-out, two-day fest. (It seriously sounds like some sort of scheming that would come out of a slapstick comedy like The Three Stooges.)
"People really wanted to get in there," Jones said. "People didn’t have tickets and were rushing the fences and going over the fences."
Six of the felony arrests were for suspicion of selling ecstasy, and 60 other arrests were for using fake IDs. The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. deputies and Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) officers were patrolling the areas during the weekend. They are still tallying up the arrests for Sunday.
Acts like Tiesto, Axwell and Disclosure performed at the fest. Event heads moved HARD Summer from last year's spot in downtown's State Historic Park to Whittier Narrows Recreation Park this year. Last August, 21-year-old Jonathan M. Reyes died at HARD summer. It was initially reported that he may have died from a drug overdose, but an autopsy report later revealed that he died from natural causes.
UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: Jones told LAist that there were 73 arrests on Sunday alone, but he noted that they were almost all misdemeanors where deputies just issued citations and released them. There were five felony arrests for drug possession, one for grand theft because someone stole someone's ticket and went running, and another person punched an ABC officer in the face as he was trying to detain him.
[h/t: San Gabriel Valley Tribune]
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
