Widespread Panic Fan Dies After Being Arrested Outside Show in Mississippi

Troy Goode with his wife Kelli and son Ryan before his life was snuffed out by Mississippi police.

Police in Southaven, Mississippi apprehended Troy Goode on July 18 outside the BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove at 7:45 pm before the Widespread Panic show there because he allegedly was acting "erratically." Goode was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto, where he died at 9:56 pm.

His wife says police were "very aggressive" with Troy. Other witnesses claim he was hogtied. Sometime during the encounter Goode, who suffered from asthma, stopped breathing. The Desoto Country Sheriff's Department claims he was under the influence of LSD and charged him with disorderly conduct. 

"The police officer at some point in time took him down to the ground and was on his back," attorney David McLaughlin reports. "I thought that was odd."

Goode's friend John Milner points out:

'He was barely 130 pounds soaking wet. Why he would have to be subdued so roughly, I have a lot of questions about it.'

Milner adds that Goode, to his knowledge, had never used LSD. "Maybe a little pot," he acknowledges. Goode's body was taken to Jackson for an autopsy.

A chemical engineer, Goode, who was 30, lived in Memphis with his wife Kelli and their 15-month-old son, Ryan. A fund for Kelli and Ryan Goode has been set up at youcaring.com.

The Goode family has retained the law firm Ballin, Ballin and Fishman. They'll likely sue the Sheriff's Department after conducting their own investigation into the incident.

Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.