Riverside police arrest 104 suspects during undercover drug operation
Riverside police arrested 104 people, many of whom identified as homeless, during an operation along the city's Magnolia Avenue corridor.
Over the course of three weeks and on 46 separate occasions, undercover officers purchased drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, PCP, and psychedelic mushrooms, between Van Buren Boulevard and Pierce Street. Officers said that most of the people peddling the drugs identified themselves as homeless or living in the numerous hotels along the corridor.
After the undercover sting, dubbed Operation Street Sweeper, officers arrested 33 alleged drug dealers and booked them on narcotics sales violations.
A task force operating with the Riverside Police Department arrested 71 other suspects. Officers booked them on charges including:
- 15 arrests violations of parole, probation and post-release community supervision
- 3 outstanding felony arrest warrants
- 21 outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants for shoplifting, petty theft, trespassing, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of controlled substances and being under the influence of a controlled substance
- 32 misdemeanor arrests for trespassing, public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal possession of controlled substances
Police released most of the alleged drug dealers with only four remaining in custody. Investigators did not locate 11 more drug dealers during the initial sweep.
Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez blamed Prop 47, AB 109 and Prop 57 for the release of most of the suspects.
The laws referred to as the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" have made it difficult to ensure our citizens' safety," Gonzalez wrote. "Offenders with multiple prior convictions used to face substantial criminal penalties, but these penalties have since been legislated away, leaving our communities suffering."