Welcome to L.A. TACO’s weekly Investigations Newsletter, I’m Lexis-Olivier Ray, the Head of Investigations for L.A. TACO.
Feds Did a Sweep
Last week, hundreds of federal police officers descended on MacArthur Park for the second time in less than a year. This time, they left the calvary at the stables and were joined by approximately 100 local officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
During the May 6 raid—dubbed “Operation Free MacArthur Park”—authorities arrested 18 people on drug charges, and six search warrants were served at store fronts along Alvarado Street, their owners accused of selling drugs. Seven other people remain fugitives.
I arrived at MacArthur Park at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, about an hour after the raid started. When I got there, Alvarado Street between 6th Street and Wilshire Boulevard was blocked off with yellow police tape and there were hundreds of heavily-armed DEA agents and LAPD officers scattered around the crime scene.
Across from the Bonita Mall, the focal point of the raid, LAPD top brass smiled in photos with federal agents and First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli, one of the most prominent villains during the federal government's siege on Los Angeles last year.