Crimewatch: Halloween arrests and charges

After a two year break, the famous Athens HallOUween block party finally returned this past weekend, which brought students and visitors together to celebrate once again. 

Despite the fun occasion, many ran into trouble with the law.

The Ohio Investigative Unit (OIU), a section of the Ohio State Highway patrol that focuses on alcohol, tobacco and food stamp enforcement, arrested 76 individuals and filed 152 charges between Oct. 27 and Oct. 30. Four of these arrests were of juveniles. 

“Offenses included underage alcohol, furnishing alcohol, obstructing official business, fake id, failure to disclose, open container and four charges of felony drug abuse.  All arrestees were cited and released,” the OIU said in an email.

The number one charge was underage consumption of alcohol, which resulted in 100 offenses. The second most common charge for the weekend was 38 offenses of certain acts prohibited with fictitious identification. Other charges include two counts of possession of cocaine and four open container charges.

These arrest numbers are lower compared to previous HallOUween weekends, but are still relatively high compared to fest season.