15 EF attendees facing criminal charges

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

HART — A total of 15 Electric Forest attendees are facing criminal charges, said Oceana County Assistant Prosecutor Erin Fisher, who is in charge of prosecuting crimes arising out of last weekend’s festival.

Charges include five felony warrants containing 11 felony counts and 10 misdemeanor warrants containing 18 misdemeanor counts, Fisher said. “Those numbers may increase once lab results are received for a few cases, but for now, that is all I have charged the festival goers with.” Charges range from possession of cocaine or MDMA/nitrous to disorderly person to one case of felonious assault. “All in all, it was a pretty quiet year there,” she said.

The fourth annual festival, which ran June 26-29 at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, attracted at least 40,000 people. One person died the final night of the festival, 20-year-old Brian Alan Brockette of Caledonia. Brockette’s toxicology results from an autopsy yesterday will not be available for four to six weeks, said Lt. Jeff White of the Hart post of the Michigan State Police.

“I was so hoping we would have a year with no tragedies, and I was very saddened to hear of Mr. Brockette’s death in the early hours of Monday morning when I was notified,” Fisher said. “My condolences and deepest sympathy go out to his family.”