4 Arrested in Pacoima ‘Rock House’ Raid

Police raided another fortified “rock house” in Pacoima on Friday night, seizing cocaine and weapons and arresting four people on drug charges, authorities said.

Abandoning plans to use a controversial battering ram at the last minute, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics team rushed the house at 11015 Chivers Road at 8:10 p.m., a police spokesman said.

Police gave up plans to use the ram after finding that several cars had been parked in front of the house in an apparent effort to protect it, the spokesman said.

The raid also drew an appearance from state Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles), who read a statement supporting a police crackdown on rock houses, so called because they are used to sell cocaine in rock form.

Davis, who was accompanied by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), stopped short of endorsing the use of the 16-foot V-100 battering ram, a converted military vehicle that is sometimes used to smash holes in the sides of the dwellings.

‘Reservations’ About Ram

“I have some reservations about the use of the ram, but I have no reservation about cracking down on drug dealers,” Davis said.

Police, after prying a set of bars off windows at the back of the house, arrested Myles Taylor, 29, of Lake View Terrace; James Sherman, 24, of San Fernando; Sharon Banks, 27, of San Fernando, and Deelyne Meyers, 24 of Pacoima, a jail spokesman said. Taylor, arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale, was held at the Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, a jail spokesman said.

Sherman and Banks, arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine, were released from the jail after posting $5,000 bail. Meyers, arrested on the same charge, was released after posting bail of $1,000.