4 Drug Arrests but No Trouble During Party at Magic Mountain

Four people were arrested on suspicion of drug possession, but no other serious incidents were reported Saturday at the close of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s all-night “Back to School” party, an official of the Valencia amusement park said.

The event’s relative calm stood in sharp contrast to the park’s last overnight party, on June 21, when gang rivalry sparked a melee in which six people were stabbed, four security guards assaulted and 21 people were arrested.

At the event that ended at 5 a.m. Saturday, a mostly teen-age crowd of about 9,000 attended an eight-hour party notably free of fights or other violence, said Matt Reibsamen, a security supervisor.

“It was a very uneventful, very pleasant evening,” he said.

Security Force Increased

Magic Mountain increased its security force in response to the violence at the June “School’s Out” party. Fifteen off-duty sheriff’s deputies hired by the park screened customers Friday and Saturday in an effort to turn away possible gang members.

“Everybody was geared up since the last all-night party,” Reibsamen said.

Two youths, ages 16 and 17, were arrested by deputies on suspicion of possession of cocaine and phencyclidine, or PCP, Sgt. Gus Risinger of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said. They were released to their parents, he said.

Two adults were arrested in separate incidents on suspicion of possession of psychedelic mushrooms and cocaine, Risinger said.

Three of the arrests were made at the park’s main gate, where many of the deputies were stationed.

No Sign of Gangs

Security guards found no sign of gangs during the party, although three carloads of people who refused to be searched for drugs, alcohol and weapons were turned away, Reibsamen said.

Security guards caught five people trespassing on park grounds, he said.

Reibsamen said the park would continue to promote advance sale of tickets and limit the number of participants at all-night parties planned for next summer. The practices were instituted as part of a security program developed after the June violence.