FAYETTE DRUG TASK FORCE RAIDS AREA CHURCH

BULLSKIN TWP. - In what some officials were calling one of the most
significant drug busts in Fayette County history, four teams of law
enforcement officers raided the Church of Universal Love and Music in
Bullskin Township Saturday.

During a weekend event dubbed "Funk Fest" at the eccentric and
eclectic church, multiple units from the Fayette County Drug Task
Force raided the compound, sending shocked parishioners literally
running from the grounds.

"At this point, we have confiscated a large amount of contraband and
made multiple arrests," Fayette County District Attorney Nancy D.
Vernon said Saturday night, as multiple police vans loaded with
suspects arrived at the Uniontown Police Department shortly before 10
p.m. "There have been at least 20 arrests made and we have multiple
truck loads of confiscated drugs and paraphernalia."

During the raid at the church on Bear Rocks Run Road in Acme, Vernon
said that officers discovered "pounds and pounds of hallucinogenic
mushrooms, tons of marijuana and more than 1,000 smoking devices."
She said it will take time for officers to make an accurate inventory
of the confiscated items. Officers had to attach tow-behind trailers
to police cruisers to remove the contraband. She said four separate
"head shops" at the church where drugs and drug paraphernalia were
being sold were also raided.

Additionally, Vernon said the 36 officers who conducted the raid
found prescription medication being used illegally, more than $5,000
cash and other illegal drugs.

Ironically, one of the concert headliners during the weekend
festivities is a band called DRUGS, who feature the song "Strung Out."

Vernon said that law enforcement officials from around the county,
including task force members from Uniontown and Connellsville, as
well as the state police vice unit and the Fayette County Sheriff's
Department, participated in the raid. Fayette EMS Tactical Medics and
the Connellsville Auxiliary police assisted at the scene.

Task Force Detective Ryan Reese said the raid began at 5 p.m. as
officers executed multiple search warrants at the church.

Vernon said the raid was the result of an ongoing investigation
during which undercover officers made multiple drug purchases.

According to Vernon, undercover officers infiltrated services at the
church in May and July.

She said that officers discovered concert vendors at the site selling
drugs and drug paraphernalia.

During undercover operations at the site, Vernon said officers
purchased acid and other illegal drugs and found vendors selling
everything from marijuana-laced brownies to "Whippet balloons" which
are filled with nitrous oxide and then inhaled.

Earlier this year, Willie Pritts, the church's founder, settled a
property dispute with the Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board on the
condition that drugs were not permitted on the premises and underage
drinking was to be forbidden.

Following the settlement, the church resumed holding musical church
services on Pritts' property after more than a three-year hiatus.

The hiatus came after the board denied Pritts' requests to either
rezone his land to hold concerts or grant him a special exception to do so.

After years of squabbling with the board, Pritts and the church filed
a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county, the board and
other officials. Amongst his claims were that the county infringed
upon his right to religious freedom when it denied his requests.

The case was settled in March, and while the settlement agreement
does not address the sincerity of the church's beliefs, it did give
Pritts $75,000 and permission to have six weekend, and six Saturday
concerts on the church's land, which includes this weekends "Funk Fest."

Conditions in the settlement also included limiting church attendance
to 1,500 people for any given event.

Vernon said it was not immediately clear how many people were in
attendance during Saturday's raid.

"I am very proud of the task force and the officers who participated
in this raid because they risked going into a situation where they
didn't know if there would be 300 people or 1,500 people," Vernon
said. "Now, I hope to present this raid to the county to help take
the steps necessary to halt this church's operation."