California
Feds using hidden cameras in effort to nab San Francisco drug dealers
SAN FRANCISCO — In their endless bid to stop drug dealing in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood, authorities have added a new layer to the formula of sending undercover cops to buy drugs from whoever’s willing to sell: planting hidden cameras at the scene.
Now, federal prosecutors are marching into court equipped with videos allegedly showing defendants selling drugs to undercover San Francisco police officers. In one case, the camera was planted literally right under the suspected dealer’s nose, as he counted out cash and handed an undercover officer a bag of methamphetamine.
On March 8, an undercover officer arranged to buy 57 grams of methamphetamine from a man named Henry Alvarado for $500, prosecutors allege. The officer drove up to the meeting spot at Van Ness Avenue and Ellis Street in San Francisco, and invited Alvarado into his car. Video situated just below the passenger seat recorded everything, and police repeated the trick twice more that month in subsequent fentanyl and methamphetamine transactions, according to court records.
Federal prosecutors charged Alvarado with fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution on April 17, and used stills from the hidden camera footage to argue that Alvarado should be detained pending trial. He remains in federal custody for now but a judge has yet to make a final decision on the issue of his detention, court records show.
The Alvarado case followed a similar arrest involving Oakland resident Esmun Moyses Moral-Raudales, who prosecutors allege was caught on video selling fentanyl to an undercover officer last January, at Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street in San Francisco. Authorities raided his residence and allegedly found eight pounds of fentanyl, an unregistered gun, and roughly $12,000 in cash, prosecutors alleged in court records.
Like with Alvarado, prosecutors used video of the January drug deal to both justify the search of his home and argue for detention pending trial. Moral-Raudales remains in custody for now, but a judge has yet to rule on a prosecution request to keep him jailed. In it, the U.S. Attorney’s office argued he is a flight risk because he made frequent trips to Portland despite having probation conditions that forbade him from traveling out of the area.
California
Over 100 horses at Southern California facility at risk of being displaced
More than 100 horses are in danger of being displaced, including some that are too old to be moved and would need to be euthanized, after the city of Lakewood announced it could no longer afford to run the beloved equestrian center.
The Lakewood Equestrian Center also houses miniature horses and some mules. Some of the horses are old and have been retired, while others are used for training and riding.
Taylor Cohen, who works as a first responder and boards her horse at the center, explained that horses provide people with the opportunity to relax and just love their animals.
Hearing news that the city plans to shutter the equestrian center, she said, was devastating.
“Having been a first responder [for] the last 18 years of my life, finding ways to manage the stress that you come into is huge,” Cohen explained. “There has to be other ways [to do that] besides going and seeing a therapist.”
Part of the land the equestrian center sits on is owned by the county. Another portion is owned by Southern California Edison.
The city has announced plans to wipe the equestrian center out and build a park with pickleball courts, though, according to Cohen and others, this comes with a huge problem.
“There’s nowhere for these horses to go,” she said. “Some of them won’t be able to be moved because of age or health issues. There’s actually no place around that will be able to board all these horses.”
Lakewood City Council halted their vote on the issue to give people more time to come up with a proposal for taking it over, but the facility needs at least $6 million in repairs and Edison is owed more than $40,000 on the lease, leaving some people who use the center at a loss.
“We have nowhere else to go,” Noah Grove, who boards his animals at the facility, told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw. “Huntington Beach Equestrian Center, their full and have a 35-horse waitlist. I’m actually from Huntington Beach. I drive 18 to 30 minutes to get here, depending on traffic, and I’m up here sometimes twice a day.”
Riders like Makella Mahan are hoping someone can grab the reins of the facility and save this haven for her and the horses.
“Honestly, all these beautiful horses would be out of a home, and I think that would be very sad,” she said.
For its part, city officials have said they don’t necessarily want to close the facility and are hoping to come up with a plan, along with the equestrian community, for making the center profitable or even getting it to break even.
California
New law requiring California bars to offer drink spiking drug test kits takes effect July 1 | CNN
CNN
—
A new law requiring many California bars and nightclubs to offer common date-rape drug test kits will take effect Tuesday, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The law, Assembly Bill 1013, requires approximately 2,400 establishments with a Type 48 license to have signage letting patrons know that drug testing kits are available.
Type 48 licenses are issued to bars and nightclubs and authorize the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits, according to the department.
The signage reads, “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”
The drug testing devices will either be offered for sale at a reasonable price or be given to customers for free, according to the department.
Devices could include test strips, stickers, or straws that can detect the presence of controlled substances in drinks.
California
California bars required to offer drug testing kits starting July 1
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