Boy Did He Get a Wrong Number, Police Say
A one-digit mistake by a suspected Los Angeles cocaine dealer led to his arrest after he accidentally dialed 911 on Thursday while allegedly trying to telephone an accomplice in Mexico, police said.
“He said he meant to dial 011 for the connection to Mexico but dialed 911 by mistake,” said Los Angeles Police Det. Cheri Gonzalez.
Artemio Lara, 23, an illegal immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, made the call from his apartment at 2979 Marengo Ave. about noon, she said.
Gonzalez said that when Lara realized he had called police, he hung up, prompting officers from the LAPD’s Hollenbeck station to investigate.
“When he opened the door [officers] could see a gun inside the apartment,” Gonzalez said.
The officers found another gun, about $15,000 and a bag of powder cocaine, Det. John McKnight said. Gonzalez and McKnight were called to the scene and found about three pounds of cocaine.
Lara was booked at LAPD headquarters at Parker Center on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Since Lara is an illegal immigrant, Gonzalez said he also could face federal charges.
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