Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shut down two high desert rave parties advertised on social media and arrested three people last week hoping to send a stern message to party-goers about the potential risks of the dangerous parties.
Rave parties, festivals featuring performances by DJs and electronic dance music, have been fatal and often include drugs such as Ecstasy and alcohol, according to a sheriff's department statement.
"Violent attacks, rapes, overdoses and serious crimes often occur," officials said in a press release.
One of the most recent high profile cases in Los Angeles came in 2010 when 15-year-old Sasha Rodriguez overdosed on Ecstasy while attending the annual Electric Daisy Carnival at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
In the recent Antelope Valley cases, police scoured the Internet for clues to where two raves last month were going to be held. Deputies closed one before it started and used zoning regulations to close another.
“There are no restrooms or even a water supply, running or not," said Capt. Pat Nelson, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lancaster Station about the second raid. “With temperatures exceeding 110 degrees, this party was an accident waiting to happen and inherently dangerous.”
Michal Calabrese, 20, and Courtney George, 26, were booked on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance, officials said. Timothy Frye, 27, was booked into jail on a charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
LA County law enforcement officials said they have prevented more than 400 raves since the end of 2012, officials said.
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