Residents Hope to Push Pushers Off of Their Turf
Almost a year after Anaheim police arrested 12 people on drug sale charges in Modjeska Park, local residents are calling for new action to push out the pushers.
“What we’re trying to do now is reclaim the park,” said Art Petit, 65, one of the organizers of a meeting Monday night at St. Justin Martyr Church where about 100 area residents complained to representatives from the police and the city’s department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.
“Right now (the amount of crime in the park) is just not what it was a year ago,” said Capt. Randall Gaston of the Anaheim Police Department in an interview before the meeting. “They’re concerned that the oncoming summer will be what they saw last summer. They want the park for their children to play in. We share their concerns, and if we feel something is developing, we’ll step in again.”
In August, 1986, Anaheim police arrested 10 adults and two juveniles on drug sale charges after a two-month undercover investigation.
Residents say problems with drugs and drinking parties in the park began several years ago.
“Parents are afraid to let their children use the park,” said Bill Spehn, 69, a retired Marine who has lived near the park for 20 years.
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