Police arrest man suspected of selling heroin in Simi Valley Library

This is one for the books. But not in a good way.

Police have arrested a man suspected of dealing heroin in the Simi Valley Library.

Bradley Bates, a homeless man from the Huntington Beach area, posed as a library patron and sold heroin to customers inside the library and in its parking lot, according to the Simi Valley Police Department. Police had received complaints about drug dealing in the library.

When he was arrested Thursday inside the library, Bates was carrying more than six grams of heroin and more than $1,500 in cash, police said.

Bates was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale. A narcotics-related felony warrant had previously been issued for his arrest, police said in a statement.

Bates is being held in the Ventura County Jail without bail and is expected to appear in court Monday, according to inmate information from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Activists in Simi Valley have been trying to draw attention to heroin use in the city in recent years. For the last three years, the city has observed a Simi Valley Heroin Awareness Day in September.

The city was even featured on an episode of “Dr. Phil” titled “Heroin in Suburbia: A Town Intervention” after officials created a task force on heroin prevention.

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