Arrests Soar at 2015 Coachella Music Festival

Police arrested 133 people during the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, a sharp increase from 93 arrests during the event’s first weekend, police announced this week.

In all, 226 arrests were made during this year’s festival, up more than 36 percent from the 166 arrests made during the 2014 festival.

A majority of last weekend’s arrests were drug- and alcohol-related, including 51 for misdemeanor drug possession, two for felony drug possession and 77 arrests for being drunk in public or other alcohol crimes, Indio police Sgt. Daniel Marshall said. The number of alcohol-related arrests during the first weekend of the festival totaled 33.

During the second weekend, officers made one arrest each for domestic violence, esisting or obstructing police and for an outstanding warrant.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival attracts about 100,000 people for each of the two weekends at the Empire Polo Club.

Roughly 60,000 people are expected to descend on the venue again this weekend for the Stagecoach country music festival.

— City News Service.