Bonnaroo 2017: Undercover narcs nab suspected dealer with over $6K in drugs

Natalie Neysa Alund | The Tennessean

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Middle Tennessee law enforcement said they busted a suspected drug dealer at the 16th annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Thursday for selling more than $6,000 in drugs to an undercover narcotic detective.

According to Manchester Police, 22-year-old Holden Justiss Chandler of Cedar, Mich., was arrested and charged with manufacturing and delivering multiple controlled substances Thursday afternoon on the grounds of the four-day music festival in Manchester.

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What drugs were found on the suspect?

Police Det. Bryan Eldridge said Chandler sold the officer a pound of marijuana, 33 grams of cocaine, 34 grams of mushrooms, a small amount of molly — a synthetic drug that alters mood and perception — and a small amount of LSD.

Eldridge said the street value of the narcotics is more than $6,000.

Chandler's girlfriend, Katie Lee Dubro of Traverse City, Mich., was also caught with 50 hits of acid, police said. She was cited on a simple possession charge and released from custody.

Chandler was booked into the Coffee County jail and was being held on $50,000 bond Friday, Eldridge said.

Following his arrest, Chandler denied selling drugs and told The Tennessean he is innocent of the charges. He is due in Coffee County General Sessions court on Aug. 11 for a hearing on the matter.

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What people are arrested for at Bonnaroo

The arrest was one of at least a dozen made by law enforcement overseeing Bonnaroo this year since the festival kicked off Wednesday night, authorities said.

The number of people cited was not immediately available.

A majority of the arrests included charges such as public intoxication, disorderly conduct and illegal possession of a controlled substance for harder drugs like Molly, Esctasy and LSD — all typical cases connected to Bonnaroo, Sheriff's Office spokesman Lucky Knott said.

More: Man busted with over 1,000 fake drugs at Bonnaroo: 'I'm doing God's work'

Day before, man says he was 'doing God's work selling fake drugs'

Just one day prior to Chandler's arrest, the Coffee County Sheriff's Office made another major arrest when they say they busted a New York man with more than 1,000 fake drugs.

Authorities saw David Brady of Albany, N.Y., with suspected narcotics and, according to an arrest warrant, searched him and found 37 pills made to look as if they were molly, 22 bags of fake mushrooms, about 1,000 hits of fake acid, 20 bags made to look like cocaine and an incense stick made to look like black tar heroin.

The arrest warrant goes on to say Brady told deputies that he was "doing God’s work by selling fake drugs." He was charged with multiple counts of possession of counterfeit controlled substances.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennesseean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.