Illegal Vendors, Drugs Prompt Arrests At Gorge Amphitheater

Grant County sheriff’s deputies confiscated more than $7,000 in illicit drugs and closed down dozens of illegal vendors over the weekend during the World Music Festival at the Gorge amphitheater.

About 100 illegal vendors were selling a variety of items, including beer, around the perimeter of the amphitheater, deputies said.

Elijah J. Thompson, 26, and James W. Phillips, 27, both of Eugene, Ore., and John Lords Chandler, 42, of Portland, were arrested on drug charges.

Deputies said they confiscated about $5,000 worth of psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana from Thompson, who was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail.

Phillips was arrested after $2,000 in psilocybin mushrooms and bread laced with marijuana were seized, along with a 1978 Plymouth and $422 in cash, deputies said.

Chandler, who ran from deputies as they broke up a group of people smoking pot, was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

, DataTimes