Police and federal agents conducted a series of drug enforcement raids Thursday in and around the Skid Row section of downtown Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California, arresting 23 of 28 suspects accused of trafficking drugs and preying on vulnerable residents, federal prosecutors said.
The suspects were charged in federal criminal complaints with distributing drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, in an area where authorities allege dealers preyed on unhoused residents and other vulnerable people.
The arrests were part of a Homeland Security Task Force operation involving the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Los Angeles Police Department and other federal and local agencies.
The latest arrest total was up from 21 reported earlier Thursday by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell during a news conference at police headquarters.
Federal officials said investigators searched 20 residences, most of them outside Skid Row, along with several tents associated with drug dealing in the neighborhood.
The searches resulted in the seizure of firearms, suspected methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, pills, cash and luxury vehicles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Today’s operation targeted drug traffickers who prey on some of the most vulnerable members of the community,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “They targeted the homeless in Skid Row, kept them addicted on drugs like PCP, and took their public assistance money for payment.”
Essayli said federal prosecutors would continue pursuing drug distribution networks operating in Skid Row.
“We will use every lawful tool to dismantle the networks flooding Skid Row with deadly drugs,” he said. “Those dealing drugs are looking at mandatory prison sentences. This operation is just the beginning. More to come.”
According to federal court documents, drug dealers allegedly used tents and makeshift structures to conceal narcotics sales, sometimes dressing as unhoused residents or social workers to avoid detection.
Authorities said dealers also stored drugs in vehicles, single-room occupancy housing units and nearby residences, often using properties and vehicles registered to other people.
At the intersection of Fifth and Crocker streets, investigators identified a group of alleged dealers who used tents and temporary structures to distribute narcotics.
Among them was Rodney Thomas, 55, also known as “Jamaica,” who prosecutors allege lived in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise near the Los Angeles Convention Center but traveled to a tent at Fifth and Crocker to sell drugs.
According to court documents, Thomas drove to the location in luxury vehicles, including a Bentley and a Mercedes-Benz.
Other defendants accused of dealing drugs in the area include Charles McIntyre, 65; Dwayne Richards, 62; Tyzarioun Grimsley, 28; Eric Goring, 38; and Michael Taylor, 39, all of Los Angeles.
Also arrested were Manuel Vaughns, 52, of West Covina; Larry Pitre, 70, also known as “Kat Daddy,” of Studio City; and Lionel Nelson, 57, also known as “Popeye,” of Watts.
Federal prosecutors allege Vaughns, an identified Raymond Avenue Crip gang member, regularly sold drugs in Gladys Park in Skid Row.
Taylor allegedly disguised himself as an unhoused person by wearing dirty clothing and enlisted people living on the streets as lookouts, paying them with drugs, according to court documents.
Prosecutors also allege members of the Pueblo Bishops Bloods gang distributed drugs from makeshift tents and tables near Fifth and San Pedro streets.
“It would be simple to overlook the crimes of Skid Row and act as if it doesn’t matter … confined to a small area and confined to vulnerable populations,” said Patrick Grandy, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
“Make no mistake about this operation, these narcotics traffickers are the single largest driver of violent crime in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles,” Grandy said.
David Olesky, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, said the alleged traffickers operated openly in an area where thousands of people struggle with homelessness, addiction and mental illness.
“These traffickers did not hide in the shadows. They operated in plain sight. They used tents, tarps, and makeshift structures as storefronts — as drug distribution centers,” Olesky said.
The operation extended beyond downtown Los Angeles to locations in other parts of Los Angeles County, Simi Valley in Ventura County and San Bernardino County.
At the earlier news conference, McDonnell said members of the Main Street Crips and other gangs were involved in drug distribution operations that had continued for years.
He described some of the alleged criminal enterprises as “generational,” with parents raising their children to eventually participate in drug dealing.
Drugs involved in the trafficking operations included methamphetamine, fentanyl, crack cocaine, PCP and heroin, McDonnell said.
“Today’s operation is about more than arrests,” McDonnell said, emphasizing that the people targeted by dealers are among the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who joined McDonnell and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass at the news conference, said Skid Row had endured decades of drug trafficking and other criminal activity.
“The fact that I can say there is a Skid Row in Los Angeles, as there are in other cities, is embarrassing,” Hochman said.
He described the operation as an effort to reduce harm to people struggling with addiction.
“We are getting rid of the drug suppliers,” Hochman said.
Bass condemned dealers who exploit unhoused residents and people struggling with substance abuse.
“This makes me personally, particularly angry because I think a lot of times Angelinos don’t realize that many unhoused people who are suffering from addition have to deal with people who sell the drugs who prey upon them, who sometimes pretend to be homeless, sometimes pretend to be in tents and basically are there to keep people addicted,” Bass said.
She emphasized the need to distinguish between alleged traffickers and unhoused people who require treatment and other assistance.
Federal authorities said Thursday’s operation followed similar enforcement actions earlier this year targeting drug trafficking in the MacArthur Park area, where 24 people were arrested.
The Skid Row investigation involved the FBI, DEA, LAPD, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS Criminal Investigation and several other federal and local law enforcement agencies.
If convicted, each of the defendants faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.