Most Concertgoers Show Their Sunday Best Behavior for Country Jam
Sunday, the final day of Country Jam, proved to be much easier for law enforcement thanks to a significant decrease in the number of people engaged in illegal activity compared to Friday and Saturday.
The day wasn't completely without trouble, but the number of summons and arrests were almost half the number of the previous day. There are several theories about the drop including, most of the troublemakers had already been arrested or kicked out of the festival.
Perhaps, enough people had witnessed what happens if you don't follow the rules and decided not to become a statistic. Or, maybe everybody just needed a day of rest and decided to enjoy the music and atmosphere.
Those are just some of the theories. Now for the facts, both for Sunday followed by overall statistics for the festival. The 2017 numbers are listed in parentheses for comparison.
At the Festival
- Minor in Possession/Alcohol Offenses 14 (15)
- Fake ID 5 (1)
At the Campground
- Minor in Possession/Alcohol Offenses 16 (17)
- False Reporting 1 (0)
In the Parking Lot
- Minor in Possession/Alcohol Offenses 1 (0)
Full Breakdown of Underage Liquor Infractions
- Minor in Possession /Alcohol Offenses 149 (179)
- Procuring Alcohol to a Minor 6 (8)
- Fake ID 8 (4)
- False Reporting 2 (4)
- Possession of Another's ID 1 (1)
- Possession of Marijuana 0 (1)
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia 0 (1)
- Resisting Arrest 0 (1)
- Obstruction 1 (0)
- Assault on a Police Officer 0 (0)
- Attempt to Purchase Alcohol 0 (0)
- Disorderly Conduct 0 (0)
- Warrant 1 (0)
Mesa County Sheriff's Deputies also made several arrests during the four days of the festival, responded to several reports of intoxicated individuals, two reports of sexual assault, a golf cart crash (non-injury), a fight, vandalism, hit and run (staff parking lot non-injury), domestic violence, report of a gun stolen from a vehicle in the parking lot, and a car with the keys left in it was reported stolen.
Last, but not least, a man who accidentally shot himself in the stomach on Friday was taken to St. Mary's Hospital. He missed most of the festival but is expected to recover. Initial reports listed his age as 30, he's actually 37-years-old.
A huge thank you goes to the men and women who worked day and night to ensure trouble was dealt with swiftly. This allowed the tens of thousands of responsible and respectful people attending Country Jam to have four days of fun, most without even knowing how well protected they were.