Federal authorities said they made more than a dozen arrests Thursday in what was hailed as a sweeping operation targeting drug trafficking in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles.
An FBI spokesperson said the agency executed dozens of search warrants. The Los Angeles Police Department was also involved. An LAPD spokesperson said at least 14 suspects had been detained and 44 arrest warrants had been served.
Among those targeted by the arrest warrants were 28 individuals believed to be involved in dealing drugs on the streets of Skid Row, often from fake homeless tents and sometimes through surrogates, according to multiple law enforcement sources involved in the operation not authorize to discuss it. At least seven of those sought were still unaccounted for early Thursday morning, the sources said.
For decades, the LAPD, federal authorities and local prosecutors have targeted drug dealers and gangs controlling the territory, including the 5th and Hill gang. As the drug market has expanded, other gangs and their dealers have flooded the area, according to the law enforcement sources.
At least three helicopters were flying overhead downtown near Skid Row in the aftermath of the Thursday sweep. Streets were blocked off with yellow police line tape that read “do not cross.” LAPD squad cars were parked on the other side of that tape, as onlookers gathered to watch.
One of those targeted for arrest was Manuel Courtney Vaughns, a suspected Pasadena dealer with history of drug possession convictions and illegal firearms possession charges, according to law enforcement sources not authorized to speak publicly about the active investigation. Vaughns’ territory on Summit Avenue has long been associated with a Pasadena gang, the law enforcement sources said.
An armed federal SWAT team targeted one Pasadena home on Summit Avenue where Vaughns was thought to reside. Vaughns was detained and is expected to appear in court later Thursday.
On Skid Row, Jesse Allred, 73, a resident of Weingart Towers, stood at a nearby corner of 6th and Crocker streets, where police tape blocked off Crocker. He held an Arizona iced tea in one hand and his Rottweiler mix Lady in the other.
“We seen the FBI wearing their FBI uniforms and flack jackets,” he said. “Something crazy is going on.”
He said he parked nearby and saw “cops were just going everywhere.”
Allred said he’s lived in the drug-plagued area for 15 months since getting out of jail.
“I get out and people are smoking dope on the corner,” he said. “They’re shooting dope all over the place. The police are driving all over the place not even caring.”
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