Pacoima Neighbors Counterattack in Drug War

Nailed to a tree in front of Vicente Fajardo’s white stucco home is a sign, or rather, a proclamation: ATTENTION: ‘DOPERS.’ WE’RE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS.

The flimsy wooden sign with the bold statement is a message from the Haddon-Mercer Homeowners Assn., of which Fajardo is a founder. For the past six months, 60 Pacoima families in this low-income and mostly Latino neighborhood have been waging a quiet but daring campaign against drug dealers doing business at the intersection of Haddon Avenue and Mercer Street, one of the most drug-ridden street corners in the San Fernando Valley, police say.

“Sometimes there are six, seven cars blocking the streets, and nobody can get by. Nobody can do nothing. This happens 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Efrem (Shorty) Olvera, president of the association. “It really, really is dangerous for the kids.”

The group’s campaign to clean up the street corner includes some unusual tactics, such as openly photographing suspected dealers as they loiter on the street.

Olvera said that on several occasions he has walked up to suspected drug buyers and tried to talk them out of doing business in his neighborhood. Other residents log suspected customers’ license plate numbers and descriptions of their cars.

The association gives the information and photos to police at Foothill Division in the hope that such evidence will lead to the arrest of dealers and their customers.

Although the information has limited use in prosecutions, said Capt. Valentino Paniccia of Foothill Division, the group’s tactics have discouraged dealers from operating visibly in the neighborhood.

But not all have been discouraged. In fact, association members believe their actions have incited retaliation, including the throwing of empty whiskey bottles at Fajardo’s front door. In addition, two months ago a man walked onto Fajardo’s lawn and fired a rifle once into the air.

But Fajardo, 56, is undaunted. “We try to prove to these guys that we are not scared. We try to fight with no weapons. I think we can beat them now,” he said in a thick Spanish accent.

Residents say their aggressive tactics, along with increased police sweeps, have put a dent in the bustling street drug trade, forcing peddlers to operate with a lower profile or conduct their business elsewhere. But the problem is far from solved.

Odelia Urquidez, who has lived on Mercer Street since 1963, is one of the original members of the group. She said her driveway used to be littered with syringes and small plastic bags she believes were used to package drugs. “We had three cars parked alongside each other in the street, and no other cars could get by. And they were passing these little packages between them.

“It’s quieted down quite a bit. Before, it was going on right in front of you, they didn’t give a darn,” Urquidez said. “But it’s starting up again.”

Olvera said it is common to hear gunfire in the area late in the evening. And at any given time, residents say, there might be a dozen or more dealers operating at or near the intersection, particularly around the 49-unit Hacienda Haddon Apartments.

One reason the area is a favorite with dealers is that they have a good view of the street and a ready escape route. When dealers spot police turning a corner onto either street, a sharp whistle can be heard, neighbors say, and the dealers disappear into the nearby apartment complex.

Olvera said he and others started the group about six months ago because they lived in fear that their children might fall prey to drug dealers.

Fed up with the situation, he and Fajardo called their neighbors together to discuss the street’s drug problem and their mutual concern for their children.

The group holds weekly meetings in Fajardo’s converted garage, where members plot strategy as Olvera presides at the head of a pool table, gavel in hand.

The group also started a “phone tree,” a telephone buddy system to ease feelings of isolation and vulnerability.

In addition, Olvera and his group have reached beyond their neighborhood for help. They met with members of the local police division, the police commission and elected officials. They also enlisted the help of the Guardian Angels, who patrol Haddon Avenue and Mercer Street at least one night a week.

Olvera also contacted an organization called the Coalition of HUD Complexes, which is composed of representatives of housing projects active in addressing drug and gang problems.

On Saturday, residents and representatives of the HUD group plan to march through the neighborhood in a show of solidarity for their ongoing fight against drug and alcohol abuse, titled Save Our Children. Mayor Tom Bradley and other elected officials joined the coalition’s last march Nov. 27 from Pacoima Park to Sylmar.

Although they know the dealers will not easily succumb to neighborhood pressure, the group will continue to apply it, Olvera said.

Irene Tovar, who chairs the Criminal Justice Panel of the city attorney’s office, a citizens group appointed to set priorities for law enforcement in their communities, said, “This is the most assertive group in the area. These people are right on the firing line. They don’t have many choices. They’re basically low-income homeowners; they can’t move to another area.”

Police also welcome the support from the neighborhood group, saying that seven or eight patrol cars responding to regular calls in an area covering 60 square miles is not enough. “I’m glad to see those homeowners get involved. I wish more people were taking those kinds of steps. If we saw that all over, that would be one more tool in this war we’re waging against drugs,” said Lt. Gary Rogness, head of the Valley Narcotics Unit at Van Nuys Division.

“They’ve got some real problems over there,” said Capt. Art Sjoquist of Foothill Division. “They’ve got gangs and drugs hot and heavy . . . so I’m glad to have a homeowners association that wants to get involved.”

“We have been aware of the problem and have been working the area for the last 1 1/2 to 2 years,” said Rogness. “There’s rarely a day that goes by that we don’t . . . make an arrest.”

Rogness said the drugs peddled at Haddon-Mercer are 90% crack, or rock cocaine. Marijuana and heroin make up the rest. Among Valley areas known for drug trafficking, Rogness said, “it’s certainly one of the worst, in my assessment.”

In October, undercover officers from Valley Narcotics joined 10 officers of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in a three-day task force designed to take advantage of a law that allows police to seize vehicles used to transport or sell narcotics. The vehicles become government property and can be auctioned off, converted for undercover use or destroyed.

The task force worked in all five Valley police divisions, Rogness said, seizing three vehicles during the three-day operation. More than half were seized in the Haddon-Mercer area.

Foothill Division’s six-man foot patrol has also been active in the area. Sgt. Cary Krebs, head of the foot patrol, estimated that over the last five months his unit has been responsible for 71 arrests at the intersection.

“We used to have a situation where there were 20 people standing out on the corner waving customers over to the sidewalk. They had a real parking problem. It was a supermarket atmosphere,” Krebs said.

Although the situation has improved, problems persist.

“It’s a known location to go, and consequently it’s going to keep drawing people,” Krebs said. “Areas start up. . . . They get a reputation. Word gets out on the street, and in the drug culture, they got a real good pipeline. That’s where you go to buy.”