A rave held in the desert outside of Rio Communities on Saturday night has residents of the area questioning why the Valencia County Sheriff’s Department never responded to repeated calls to shut it down.

The rave, a high-intensity dance party that sometimes involves alcohol and drugs, was the third event of its kind near Rio Communities in as many months.

The elaborate setup included rented tents, bright and colorful lights, loud music from a professional sound system, and up to 2,000 paying attendees, according to witnesses.

“There were two large tents, three portable toilets, one large truck with DJ equipment and large screen TV’s. One generator with mercury vapor lights and wall-to-wall people,” one witness reported.

A teenager familiar with what occurred said people came from Albuquerque and as far away as Santa Fe to participate, partying until five in the morning. Attendees, which included high school students, paid $20 each to enter the dance party.

Rio Communities and Tierra Grande residents said the lack of response from the sheriff’s department concerns them because the dance party is a noise and light nuisance, and the people who attend endanger the general public when they leave in an intoxicated state.

“Lots of people were f’ed up,” the teenager said. “It was pretty sick.”

Photographs taken of the event’s aftermath show a scatter of garbage, including clothing, sunglasses, glow sticks, Roman Candle fireworks, energy drinks, water bottles, beer cans, small transparent bags suggestive of ecstasy or other drug use, and nitrous oxide canisters, also referred to as “happy gas,” an inhalant.

“It’s an orgy of drugs, alcohol and sex,” said Sue Moran, who lives in the area, adding, “A message is being sent loud and clear, that trespassing, illegal activities, drugs and alcohol and trash are invited into Valencia County.” 

She warned of possible car crashes or drug overdoses if the raves aren’t stopped.

After more than seven calls to Valencia County dispatch, to the sheriff’s department and to the New Mexico State Police, there was no law enforcement response, Moran said. Commissioner Ron Gentry said he tried to get through to county dispatch, too, after receiving calls from constituents.

Sheriff Rene Rivera said his department has no calls concerning the rave on its call log.

“If you see the individuals out there and there are concerns about it, you need to let us know,” Rivera said, addressing Moran and commissioners at Wednesday’s commission meeting. “We’ll go out there and find out what’s really going on. If there’s a rave party, we’ll stop it.”

Rivera said it’s not all that uncommon for people to rent vacant land for parties. He also said he knows of nothing illegal done at the event in question, so his department won’t retroactively investigate it.

“For us to arrest someone they have to commit a crime,” he said.

“The way I look at it, if it happens again, it’s too late,” Commissioner Don Holliday told Rivera, who expressed frustration with Rivera’s responses, urging him to “follow the lights.”

Rivera said he has broken up similar parties at the foot of the Manzano Mountains, arresting and citing individuals for intoxication and reckless driving.

Larry Summerville, the owner of INI Entertainment Industries, a company that didn’t organize Saturday’s rave but has organized raves in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties, said there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way. He said the organizer of Saturday’s rave did it wrong.

“We make sure there’s no alcohol. We make sure we search out the drug dealers,” he said, noting he allows law enforcement to be present at his raves.

He said raves are growing in Valencia County because young people don’t have things to do.

“Your kids have nothing to do. Your kids are into drugs,” he said. “Your kids’ parties are taking place in the back seat of somebody’s car on vacant land.”

He said a combination of little support from governments, not being given permission to hold late night and early morning parties and not having access to adequate facilities means rave promoters find private land where they can toss up tents and hold dances at whatever hours they want.

County residents, he said, should remain open to allowing raves for teenagers and others so long as organizers can provide a safe environment.

But it takes more than the organizer to guarantee safety, he said, offering to organize his events in a cooperative way that’s suitable to his customers, residents, county government and local law enforcement.

This page was published on July 17, 2009 at 10:20am and is filed under Archive.