Anti-Drug Barricades May Be Losing Potency

Police are worried about the effectiveness of barricades erected last year to halt drug dealing in a Sepulveda neighborhood, where more than 40 narcotics arrests were made in the area in three sweeps this month.

Although authorities insist that the barricades are keeping drug activity far below previous levels, narcotics investigators said they are alarmed that undercover officers were able to make the arrests in 10 total hours of work on April 11 and last Wednesday and Thursday nights.

“There appears to be some pretty significant activity there,” said Police Lt. Gary Rogness, head of the Valley-based narcotics unit. “There had been a drastic reduction when the barricades went up. Now it looks like it has been coming back.”

The arrests were made in undercover operations in the Columbus Avenue neighborhood south of Nordhoff Street. All but one of the street entrances to the 12-block area were barricaded Nov. 7 after police termed the area a “hot spot” that drew cocaine buyers from throughout the San Fernando Valley.

Additionally, Rogness said the barricades designed to deter drug dealers in the neighborhood hampered the narcotics detectives by impeding their mobility during arrest operations.

“We only have one way in and out of the neighborhood,” he said. “It makes it kind of difficult to get in and grab the dealers we see.”

As a result, only three of the suspects arrested during the recent investigations are believed to be dealers, Rogness said. The rest were people who either were observed purchasing drugs and then arrested after leaving the area or who were arrested while attempting to buy drugs from officers posing as dealers.

Rogness said the neighborhood apparently still draws drug buyers from throughout the Valley. He said that many enter the area seeking to buy cocaine, driving through an entrance at Rayen Street at Sepulveda Boulevard, making their purchases and leaving by the same route.

“We also have people drive up on Nordhoff, park and then walk in past the barricades to score dope,” Rogness said. “People still keep coming there with their insatiable appetite for this drug.”

In the April 11 police operations, 21 people were arrested for trying to buy drugs from undercover officers. On Wednesday and Thursday nights of this week, about 20 people were arrested by officers who watched them either sell or buy drugs in the neighborhood, Rogness said. About 25 cars were seized from suspects under drug forfeiture laws during the arrests, Rogness said.

Despite the drug activity in the neighborhood, police and at least one property owner said the problem is still far below what is was before the barricades went up. According to police, residents want the barricades to remain and apartment owners plan in May to install permanent barriers to replace the temporary barricades.

“The barricades are working,” said Police Capt. Mark Stevens, commander of Devonshire Division, which includes the Columbus Avenue neighborhood.

“It would be a lot worse without them, and the people want them there,” Stevens said. “If you look at the traffic and you look at the streets where dealers had their marked spots, all that is gone. But it is a concern to us that some of the problem is coming back.”

Stevens said patrols have recently been increased in the area and added that he has other, undisclosed plans to deal with the problem. He said police patrols have also been increased in a nearby neighborhood along Orion Avenue, where barricades were put up but removed six weeks ago. Police reported that drug activity has also increased in that neighborhood.