Police Use Ready-Made Rock House for Cocaine Sting Operation

Police set up a cocaine “sting” operation in Inglewood on Thursday--the easy way.

Instead of having to rent a house, fortify it and then depend on street word-of-mouth advertising to build a clientele, they took over an existing operation in the 800 block of Cory Drive.

Arriving shortly before noon armed with warrants and backed by representatives of the district attorney’s office, undercover officers forced their way into the house, arrested two men inside on suspicion of selling cocaine and sent them off to be booked.

Then they relocked the front door and sat down to wait.

During the next five hours, 21 men and four women went to the door and attempted to buy rock cocaine at the going street price of $25. All were accommodated by plainclothes officers who took their money, handed over the cocaine (carefully measured and officially certified by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory) and sent them away--into the arms of other officers waiting nearby to make the arrests.

Inglewood Police Lt. Larry Carter said some of the customers were memorable.

“One woman,” he said, “was touchingly honest--for an addict. She paid us the $25 and then shoved another $5 through the slot in the front door, saying she owed it from the day before.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum, he said, was a man who said he had only $24.

“He wheedled and pleaded,” Carter said, “and so they finally gave him what he came for. But I think he was kind of embarrassed when they searched him after the arrest.

“Son-of-a-gun had $100 in his pocket.”