An East Village “open-air drug market” that prosecutors say operated under gang control is the subject of grand jury indictments returned this week against 51 people.
The charges, for crimes ranging from drug sales to weapons offenses, stem from an investigation into the area surrounding 16th and K streets, where officials say police were called to respond around 56,000 times over a period of two years.
Nearly 6,200 of those calls were for “violent acts” such as shootings, stabbings and assaults.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, which announced the indictments on Thursday, said gang members who allegedly ran the operation also conducted counter-surveillance on law enforcement officers.
A year-long probe into the market involved undercover officers purchasing drugs from dealers working in the area. A grand jury was presented with more than three weeks worth of evidence regarding widespread drug sales that the D.A.’s Office said occurred “at all times of day or night.”
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said, “Calls for service and resident complaints in this area showed that something had to be done. This operation represents more than a year of dedicated work by investigators and prosecutors to disrupt the history of drugs and violence that plagued the East Village community.”
The D.A.’s Office said 27 of the defendants were arrested during a day-long sweep on Tuesday involving more than 100 officers. If convicted, some defendants face up to one year in prison, whereas others face life imprisonment, depending on their charges and criminal histories.
“I refuse to allow San Diego streets to turn into open-air drug markets controlled by gangs like you see in other areas of the country,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.
– City News Service
