HUNTINGTON BEACH : Resident Tells of Slater Ave. Drug Sales

After a Huntington Beach resident charged Monday night that drug selling is rampant on Slater Avenue near Beach Boulevard, a police official told the City Council that there are indeed “some problems there” with drug trafficking.

But the official, Capt. Merle Schneblin, also told the council that the Police Department is aware of the drug situation there. “Arrests are made on a regular basis,” he said.

Discussion of drug selling on Slater Avenue came up when a young woman, who declined to give her name or address, went to the microphone Monday night during the public comments section of the City Council meeting. “I choose to be anonymous,” she said.

The woman asked the council members if they knew about drug selling on Slater. She said members of a gang were involved in drug sales there. “Is the city choosing to cover this up?” she asked.

When she finished her brief talk, Councilman Jack Kelly demanded an explanation from city staff members.

Schneblin, who was representing the Police Department at the meeting, responded that police recognize that there are “some problems” with drug selling on Slater Avenue.

“Are we making any headway?” Kelly asked.

“We feel we are but very slowly,” Schneblin responded. “Personally, we’d like to have more resources there.”

City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga also acknowledged to the City Council that drugs are a problem on Slater Avenue, west of Beach Boulevard. Uberuaga pointed out that part of the area encompasses the city’s low-income Oak View neighborhood, where police already have a substation.