Drug arrests adding up
LA CRESCENTA — More than a half-dozen people in the Crescenta Valley were arrested last week in connection with drug-related offenses, Glendale police said.
While the cluster of drug-related arrests was uncommon, drug issues, particularly among teens, have been a problem in the area, said North Command Lt. Ian Grimes.
“It’s definitely something we are asking the officers to focus on,” Grimes said.
In the latest arrest, police got a tip Saturday from a citizen who noticed two teens acting suspiciously at the restrooms in Glorietta Park on Verdugo Road, Grimes said.
Police arrived at the park and saw 19-year-old Gregory Maxwell of the Crescenta Valley and a 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released because he is a minor, leaving the area on their bikes, according to Glendale police reports.
When officers searched the 17-year-old, they found a hypodermic needle, a balloon containing heroin, and five Vicodin pills, according to reports. The teen was on house arrest and was wearing a tracking device on his ankle, Grimes said.
He told police that he lied to his probation officer about his whereabouts in order to go to the park to get high, according to police reports.
Maxwell was acting as the lookout, according to police reports.
He was also allegedly using Vicodin as a substitute for Suboxone, a treatment used to kick heroin addiction.
The 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin, Darvocet and being under the influence of drugs, according to police reports. Maxwell was arrested on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
On April 14, police arrested three people in the area in connection with drug-related offenses, including 26-year-old Burbank resident Matthew Chapman, who allegedly smoked heroin inside a frozen yogurt shop on Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard.
During a traffic stop that same day at Vickers Road and Sparr Boulevard, police found crack cocaine, three glass pipes used to smoke the drug and empty beer bottles inside 41-year-old Sun Valley resident Anthony Trivella’s SUV, according to police reports. Trivella, a third-strike offender, was also allegedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Alexandria Young, 20, of Sunland was also arrested on Foothill Boulevard and Marcus Avenue on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and a pipe. Another two people were arrested April 15 on suspicion of possessing drugs, including Crescenta Valley resident Robert Hendrix, 36, who had 10 grams of marijuana, a scale and baggies in his car, according to police reports.
Police checked his cell phone and allegedly found several text messages regarding marijuana deliveries to buyers on Foothill Boulevard.
Jason Green, 31, of Tujunga, was also arrested April 15 on Foothill Boulevard and Ocean View Boulevard on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and a pipe, according to police reports.
With substance abuse becoming widespread in the community, the Crescenta Valley Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition is applying for a $125,000 grant to help pay for prevention and intervention programs, said the group’s president, Howard Hakes.
Residents, business owners and police, he said, have been more focused on working together to curb substance abuse in the Crescenta Valley.
“The community is coming together now,” Hakes said.