Near Bryant-Vanalden Area : Girl, 13, Arrested in Sale of Heroin

A 13-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin for sale after undercover narcotics officers found her carrying four heroin-filled balloons near the Bryant-Vanalden area of Northridge, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

The girl, a resident of the area who was not identified because of her age, was arrested about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in an alley at Tampa Avenue and Parthenia Street after two officers saw her talking to several men, then handing something to one of them, Detective Charles Smith said.

Smith said that, when the officers identified themselves, the girl said, “I didn’t sell anything,” and turned her front pants pockets inside out. An orange balloon fell to the ground, and officers then found three more balloons filled with a brown powder in her pocket, Smith said.

The powder was tested and determined to be 2.5 grams of brown heroin, with an estimated street value of $225, Smith said.

The girl, who Smith said has a previous arrest for petty theft, was released to her parents.

Detectives on Thursday referred the case to the Probation Department, which has the power to counsel and release the girl, send her to a social agency, put her on probation or send her to court for trial, Smith said.

“Four or five times a year we’ll find someone like this,” Smith said. “You see it a lot in the 15- to 16-year-old bracket, but generally not in the 13- and 14-year-olds.”

There was no evidence that the girl was using the drug herself, Smith said.

“My feeling is we’re putting a lot of pressure on this area and whoever is out there has probably been arrested before so he’s using this kid to sell for him,” Smith said.

Smith would not disclose what school the girl attends but said there was no evidence that she was selling drugs there.

City Councilman Hal Bernson earlier this year advocated a plan that would make it easier for landlords to evict 3,000 predominantly low-income Latinos from the blighted cluster of apartments in the Bryant Street-Vanalden Avenue area. Landlords want to turn the area into a gated, middle-class community.

Bernson, who represents the area, has said that he was reconsidering the proposal after it was criticized by Mayor Tom Bradley and other council members.

In response to complaints from residents about crime in the area, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates has ordered the formation of a police task force to patrol the neighborhood.