Motion filed to delay trial on music festival drug charges

The musician charged with owning and operating land used for illicit drug transactions is set to stand trial next month, but scheduling conflicts may push the federal court date back.

Jimmy Tebeau, 44, of St. Louis was charged in June not with using or selling drugs but with operating a campground where he allegedly facilitated the sale of cocaine, marijuana, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, Ecstasy and opium.

The indictment came after a four-year federal investigation into Camp Zoe, a Shannon County, Mo., campground Tebeau purchased to hold music festivals like "Schwagstock" and "Spookstock"; Tebeau's Grateful Dead tribute band is named The Schwag. The venue closed in November 2010 after the federal government seized it.

Tebeau maintains his innocence.

In November, Tebeau filed a motion to have the charges dismissed, citing insufficient indictment. In December, Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton denied the motion and set a trial date for Feb. 6.

Tebeau's attorney, Gilbert Sison, filed a motion Jan. 6 that said Sison could not attend a trial Feb. 6 because of a scheduling conflict. Sison wrote in the motion that federal prosecutor Keith Sorrell did not object to moving the trial date and that Tebeau would waive his right to a speedy trial.

Lewis has yet to respond to the motion.

Sorrell and Sison could not be reached for comment.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service made more than 100 drug purchases during its investigation of the 330-acre concert venue, and Sorrell alleges Tebeau intentionally profited from the illicit drug sales, according to court documents.

Pertinent address:

499 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.