LOS ANGELES — Authorities arrested 23 people Thursday on federal drug trafficking charges in a crackdown on alleged dealers accused of using tents as storefronts and exploiting homeless residents in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood, officials stated.
The defendants are among 28 people charged in federal criminal complaints involving the distribution of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, federal prosecutors said.
Investigators searched 20 residences, most outside Skid Row, along with several tents in the neighborhood. Authorities seized firearms, suspected methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, pills, cash and luxury vehicles.
Prosecutors allege some defendants lived elsewhere and traveled to Skid Row to sell drugs, using makeshift structures, vehicles and single-room occupancy housing to conceal their supplies.
Rodney Thomas, 55, known as “Jamaica,” allegedly lived in a downtown high-rise near the Los Angeles Convention Center but operated from a tent at Fifth and Crocker streets. According to the complaints, he traveled to the location in luxury vehicles, including a Bentley and a Mercedes-Benz.
Authorities allege Thomas, Charles McIntyre, 65, and Tyzarioun Grimsley, 28, used tents at the intersection to store and distribute drugs rather than as housing.
Another defendant, Michael Taylor, 39, allegedly wore dirty clothes to appear homeless and recruited homeless residents to act as lookouts in exchange for drugs.
Lionel Nelson, 57, known as “Popeye,” of Watts, allegedly sold about 34 grams of fentanyl for $60 from a Mercedes-Benz parked in Skid Row on Aug. 19.
Prosecutors also identified Manuel Vaughns, 52, of West Covina, as a Raymond Avenue Crips gang member who allegedly sold drugs in Gladys Park.
Other defendants arrested included Dwayne Richards, 62, Eric Goring, 38, both of Los Angeles, and Larry Pitre, 70, known as “Kat Daddy,” of Studio City.
“We have thousands of unsheltered, many battling severe addiction and mental illness, many isolated from family and support. They are the most vulnerable among us. The criminals we arrested today are not low-level dealers,” said David Olesky, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division.
According to the complaints, alleged dealers included gang members and independent operators who controlled street corners and blocks, sometimes through violence. Investigators described hand-to-hand drug sales in Gladys Park and San Julian Park.
The crackdown followed similar operations earlier this year in the MacArthur Park area, where authorities arrested 24 people.
Each defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, prosecutors said.