With thousands of hippies, gypsies and homeless passing through Wendover, Wells and Elko on their way to the Rainbow Family gathering in Heber city this week and next local law enforcement are advising citizens and businesses to keep their cars and their doors locked and to report any strange behavior, aggressive begging or shoplifting to the police.
“Most of them are nonviolent and really are just passing through,” said West Wendover police Chief Burdel Welsh. “But anytime you have a gathering of that number of people you are sure to attract bad actors.”
Established in the early 1970’s the Rainbow Family is loose connection of hippies and other counter culture types that meet annually in a national forest somewhere in the United States in the beginning of July. According to the group’s unofficial Facebook page this year’s gathering will be held near Heber City in Utah’s Uintah National Forest. Anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people are expected to attend.
The love fest has however already gotten off to an inauspicious start with an attempted murder at the Heber campsite and an arrest for assault with a deadly weapon in Wendover, both involving Rainbow Family members.
According to police reports Lelilani M. Novak-Garcia was charged with one count of attempted murder and was booked into the Wastatch County Jail for a July 23rd stabbing of her companion.
The victim whose name has not been released was a 45 year old man from Salt Lake City suffered multiple stab wounds and was transported to the University of Utah Medical Center.
Officers from the U.S. Forest Service and the Sheriff’s Office again worked together to search the Rainbow Gathering Site— systemically scouring the entire area.
Eventually, Novak-Garcia, who was hiding in a tent, was located by officers, arrested, and taken into custody without further incident. She was booked into the Wasatch County Jail on one count of Attempted Murder, a second degree felony. She is currently being held on $20,000 cash only bail.
Three days earlier another Rainbow family member identified as Tony Myers no know physical address was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after being thrown out of a Wendover casino.
According to police reports West Wendover police were called to deal with a man in the west Montego Bay casino parking lot that was throwing rocks at employees of the casino.
Casino staff told police that the man, identified as Myers had been removed from the Peppermill casino by security officers. Myers then walked towards the Montego Bay casino where he began to allegedly throw rocks at the casino employees. Myers then crossed Wendover Boulevard to get back onto the property owned by the Peppermill while causing the disturbance with the employees. When the officer contacted Myers it was determined that Myers was also under the influence of alcohol.
Myers was taken into custody for trespassing, intoxicated pedestrian on roadway and assault with a weapon (the rock being used as an improvised weapon). None of the rocks thrown struck any person or property.
In addition to violent crime some Rainbows are known to aggressively panhandle in groups reportedly surrounding a ‘mark’ and relieving them of all their cash. Others have been know to enter usually small convince stores en masse and either shoplift the overwhelmed clerk or intentionally damage items with the intent to collect them later from the trash after they have been thrown out.
According to the organization’s websites, the stated purpose of the Gathering is to allow like-minded members of utopian, bohemian, hipster, and hippie cultures to meet together to further their ideals.
The practical impact of the Gathering is the potential increased strain on community resources. While many members of the Rainbow Family are upstanding citizens, a small segment of their population have reportedly caused significant and detrimental impacts on nearby communities.
For instance, reports of previous Rainbow Gatherings show some past attendees engaged in criminal activity, including aggressive panhandling at stores and gas stations, trespassing, shoplifting, public urination, and nudity/lewdness. In addition, these reports show some attendees have left local emergency room and hospital facilities with unpaid medical services totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars before leaving the area a month or so later.
But for all the mayhem caused by some Rainbows on the way to the Gathering what goes on at the Gathering could be at least as bad.
While Rainbows are loathe to report anything short of murder to law enforcement anecdotes abound of sexual assaults, thefts, robbery and a variety of other crimes.
The last “Family” gathering in Utah was in 2003 near American Fork in the Ashley National forest. The last time the Rainbows came to eastern Nevada was over a decade ago at the Great Basin National Park and the last time they ventured into Elko county was 25 years ago to the Jarbidge area.
Family members claimed that they were so harrassed by law enforcement , they would never return to Elko County again.
Funny how the Police make up false charges on Americans in Nevada. I have been harrassed so much due to my hair being long here,especially in Wendover but in Las Vegas too.
Don’t be mad, you’re famous now
please verify your facts. no one i know in the family would let rape or violence go on without stopping it even if it meant calling the authorities. we can not help it if people show up with other intentions. they are not family. the minute you act in those horrible ways, you are no longer considered family and you will be asked to leave. what is a real crime though is anyone who uses the media to propagate propaganda and fear based on strecthed half truths or overall lies. shame on those who know you are only passing rumors. i would further state that most of the people writing crap about the family didnt attend, didnt participate in a beautiful setting, and just pass along tired mistruths. where are the real journalists? not working at Fox news i know. if you knew the hard work and effort it takes to endure the physicality of the gathering and the fact that there’s no money exchanged, you would wonder why the criminal element would even attend. oh yea, for the most part they dont. neither do the lame excuses for media. but like Gobbell said to Hitler, if you tell a lie enough, they will eventually believe it. you missed your opportunity for yet another year to experience something amazing, instead you sat at your desk and wrote a bunch of crap. and you missed pizza and pastry night. too bad, so sad. maybe you’ll get it right next year. good luck with that.