Charges dropped aganst Symbiosis security guards
(Correction: fixing day of incident, King does have a valid concealed carry permit; initial charges dropped, DA’s office reviewing matter)
Three security personnel at the massive Symbiosis music festival east of Prineville have been arrested on criminal trespass and assault charges for what Crook County sheriff’s deputies say was an illegal drug raid on an RV where a couple were falsely suspected of “cooking drugs.”
They were released from jail after the initial charges were dropped, but the case is still under review by the district attorney’s office, officials said.
They also could face kidnap charges for detaining two people, one of whom was injured while detained, deputies said Thursday.
Deputies responded shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday to the report of two people being detained by security workers at the Big Summit Prairie event, which drew some 60,000 people for the total solar eclipse and hundreds of musical acts.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Travis Jurgens said the security crew members work for an Oregon company contracted to provide security during the week-long event.
Initial reports indicated the security crew detained a man and woman on suspicion of manufacturing drugs in their RV while camped out at the event, the sergeant said.
Sheriff’s deputies investigating the incident said they determined that the two people had not been manufacturing drugs and the security guards did not have legal authority to detain them, Jurgens said. They also learned the man had been injured while the security guards were detaining him.
Jurgens said the three security personnel illegally entered the RV, where they restrained and detained the pair, then removed them from the RV, taking the male to the medical tent due to his injuries. The woman was taken to the event headquarters.
As a result of the investigation, the three security personnel — Jared Leone, 22, of Bothell, Wash.; Ryan Schroeder, 37, of Arlington, Wash., and Thomas King, 44, of North Bend, Oregon — were arrested and charged with first-degree criminal trespass, Jurgens said. Leone and King also were charged with fourth-degree assault.
The three were booked into the Crook County Jail in Prineville and released later Wednesday. A jail officer said the charges were dropped. Oregon Assistant Attorney General Dan Wendel, helping in the district attorney’s office until Daina Vitolins’ replacement is appointed, told NewsChannel 21, “The matter is still open with our office.”
Jurgens said investigators also determined King was carrying a concealed handgun at the time of the incident, and he does have a valid concealed carry permit out of Coos County. The gun was not displayed during the incident, the sergeant said, adding that one of the requirements for the event was that there were to be no firearms on site.
Deputies are sending the reports of their investigation to the district attorney’s office to review for additional charges of second-degree kidnapping, Jurgens said.
