Man allegedly sold cocaine near elementary school in Glendale

An alleged drug dealer was charged Thursday with selling cocaine to a Glendale man in front of Mark Keppel Elementary School, officials said.

Franklin Vasquez Marquez, 34, of Los Angeles faces one felony count of possessing cocaine for sale and transporting and offering to sell cocaine, as well as one count of child abuse for taking his 3-year-old son along with him for the alleged drug drop off, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint.

While the drug transaction was in front of the elementary school, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said Marquez “wasn’t dealing to kids.”

The Glendale man, Levon Sargsyan, 41, was also charged with one felony count of possessing a controlled substance, according to the criminal complaint.

Along with the arrests, narcotic detectives seized 30 baggies of cocaine inside Marquez’s car and 20 similar packages in his home, according to police. Each gram of cocaine goes for about $80, Lorenz said.

Detectives received a tip about Marquez’s drug dealings and decided to conduct surveillance on Tuesday, Lorenz said.

Detectives saw Marquez with his son and wife driving away from a home on Harvard Boulevard in Los Angeles and then stop at a home in West Los Angeles, where he allegedly engaged in a drug transaction, according to police.

From the West Los Angeles home, Marquez traveled to a home in the 700 block of Glenwood Road and parked in the driveway.

Detectives saw Sargsyan walk out of his home, reach into the car and then quickly walk away, police said. They immediately detained him and found a small plastic bag containing cocaine on the ground, police said.

Marquez was also stopped before he could flee the neighborhood with his wife and son.

Marquez, who was convicted in 2005 for possessing a controlled substance for sale, may have been dealing cocaine for several months, Lorenz said.

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