One of the more curious manifestations of dysfunction in the downtown area has been the presence of a free market area for criminal enterprise in the vicinity immediately surrounding the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Central Division, in which law enforcement is made difficult because of the sheer number of illicit activities being committed in that particular locale.
For Sam Flemming, 50, formerly a resident at the Volunteers of America housing complex on Skid Rows Wall Street, the benefits this arrangement afforded ran out this past April 10th as police arrested him near Fifth and San Julian for drug trafficking.
Acting on an anonymous tip, police observing him exchange rock cocaine or crack with local homeless addicts for small bills and change, police apprehended him and later confiscated $135,000 wrapped in trash bags and 1.5 pounds of cocaine in his apartment, including the $11,000 he had when taken into custody.
Reached by phone, the LAPDs Lt. Paul Vernon told Our Weekly that during the 18 months that the Safer Cities Initiative has been in place, a see-sawing effect has been noted in the areas Narcotics and Property arrest rates. Observing that $6,000 of the money appropriated from Flemming, the subject of eight previous felony arrests, was in the form of coinage along with $11,000 in single one dollar bills, Vernon reasons that much of the suspects trafficking involved indigents using funds gained from panhandling from well meaning individuals attempting to assist the less fortunate.
With all of the numerous non-profit and relief organizations in place including Volunteers of America, commodities such as food are plentiful and contribute to a sophisticated barter system in which addicts may exchange sandwiches or other merchandise for currency, with which they can purchase illegal drugs. Vernon stressed that assistance should be given in the form of donations to recognized establishments rather then cash given directly to individuals on the street.
As this article went to press, Flemming was still incarcerated and awaiting adjudication.
Advertisement
Skid Row drug dealer arrested one block from police station
Advertisement
Advertisement