City Attorney Mike Feuer said Thursday he is taking steps to halt gang and drug activity allegedly happening at a South Los Angeles apartment complex, part of an ongoing effort by his office to target properties in the area believed to be under the control of the Be Bopp Bloods street gang.
The five-unit apartment building at 9246 S. Central Ave., is the alleged site of cocaine, marijuana, PCP and other drug sales, with 15 drug-related arrests linked to the property, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Police also have responded to reports of shootings, robberies, assaults and firearms violations at the property, and have served three search warrants in the past year.
Feuer noted Thursday the alleged illegal activity at the property was taking place within 1,000 feet of a kindergarten, child and youth development center and four churches.
“This lawsuit is another step in our sustained effort to take back our neighborhoods from gangs,” he said. “Our families deserve to live in communities free from drugs, guns and violence.”
Feuer’s lawsuit against property owner Minthorne Edward Pole seeks an injunction that would prohibit gang and criminal activity at the property, and calls for the installation of a video monitoring system connected to the internet, better lighting, secure gates and fencing, more rigorous tenant screening and lease enforcement, and the hiring of armed, licensed security guards.
Feuer has filed similar lawsuits in the last six months against the owners of properties in the same neighborhood that are also believed to be frequented by Be Bopp gang members. They include a 36-unit apartment complex at 9310 S. Central Ave. and a pair of duplexes at 9304 S. Central Ave.
“We are working our way up the street, making sure we don’t experience any danger for people who live in this neighborhood,” Feuer said.
Feuer also announced Thursday he is going after a nearby medical marijuana dispensary, Toke Central, which he alleges violates Proposition D that banned all but about 100 marijuana businesses in Los Angeles.
Feuer said residents anonymously can report other properties that have been a source of gang and criminal activity by calling the City Attorney’s Office at (213) 978-8340 or filling out an online form at http://www.lacityattorney.org under the “Report Problem Properties” page listed in the “Get Help” menu.
The City Attorney’s Office’s Federal and Local Special Abatement Operations Unit has obtained 56 nuisance abatement injunctions on similar properties, and closed down five location connected to gang and narcotics activity, since 2013, according to Feuer.
— Wire reports