L.A. Police Make 230 Buys in High School Undercover Sweep

Undercover police officers who appear youthful enough to pass as high school students made more than 230 drug purchases from 171 dealers as part of the department’s semiannual “school buy” program this spring, authorities said Wednesday.

Of those arrested, 104 are juveniles, including 101 students, investigators said, adding that “high-potency” marijuana remains the most popular drug on campus.

But cocaine use is increasing, they said, and officers were able to buy it on all 10 of the campuses. Other drugs purchased included the hallucinogens LSD and PCP.

Officers said that a “cocaine epidemic” is being fueled by declining prices, putting the drug within the economic reach of high school students. Cocaine that sold for $125 a gram just a few years ago, can now be purchased for about $70, investigators said.

A quarter gram of rock cocaine can be routinely purchased from street dealers for $25, but youngsters looking for an even less expensive high can buy “chip doses” for $3, officers said.

The high schools where undercover officers made drug purchases were Lincoln, Granada Hills, Polytechnic, Dorsey, Venice, Gardena, Belmont, Eagle Rock, Fremont and El Camino.

Police said this spring’s undercover drug buys, made between Feb. 9 and May 18, revealed “significant involvement in narcotics trafficking by gang members.” The 171 suspects arrested included 46 known gang members, investigators said.

Several investigations, however, showed that adults are selling drugs to high school students. One officer was taken to a residence in the 200 block of East 79th Street near a high school where two adults were selling cocaine to students, investigators said.

Officers later arrested Johnnie Hill, 53, and Hillary Jackson, 30, and seized a pound of cocaine, $10,300 in cash and two loaded handguns. Police said one of the guns had been taken in a robbery.

An undercover officer at another high school was taken by a student to a house in the 1800 block of Workman Street where investigators later arrested Fidel Rosales, 36. Police seized 93 bindles, or small packets, of cocaine and $11,900 in cash.

Officers also arrested Maria de Fernandes, 45, and recovered half a pound of cocaine at a fast-food stand in the 1400 block of West 3rd Street where cocaine was being sold “over the counter” to juveniles and adults, investigators said.