Heroin on rise in La Crescenta

LA CRESCENTA — A 32-year-old Los Angeles man will be arraigned Monday after his arrest in connection with selling heroin to La Crescenta teens.

Fernando Rosales Garcia, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of selling and transporting heroin, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Garcia is scheduled to appear before a Los Angeles County Criminal Court judge on Monday, Lorenz said.

Garcia’s apprehension follows the arrests of three other undocumented immigrants from Guatemala in May who detectives discovered also were selling heroin to teens in La Crescenta, Lorenz said.

Elder Morales, 29, and Francisco Pachin, 29, both of Los Angeles, were arrested May 12, Lorenz said. They pleaded guilty to selling heroin and were sentenced to a year in county jail, he said.

Emilio Morales, 25, of Los Angeles, was arrested May 6 and charged with selling heroin to teens, Lorenz said.

Police obtained Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds on the men for deportation, he said.

Detectives believe the teens, who were buying the drugs from the men, may be responsible for 37 auto burglaries in the area to support their drug addiction, he said.

“The root cause of their problems is their heroin use and their addiction,” Lorenz said.

“We have to take out the root of the problems, like the suppliers.”

Glendale narcotics detectives began looking into the increase of heroin use in La Crescenta after they received tips that several men were supplying the drug to the teens, he said.

Detectives conducted surveillance on the men and monitored where they sold and delivered the heroin and whom they sold to, Lorenz said.

“The unfortunate thing is that when they were doing surveillance, they saw kids buying,” he said.

The dealers didn’t sell the drugs to teens near Crescenta Valley High School, Lorenz said.

During the investigation, detectives arrested the four men, he said.

Police seized 1,000 balloons of heroin with a street value of $20,000, as well as $27,000 in cash, Lorenz said.

“More often than not, drugs are the root of all evil,” he said.

The biggest issue Glendale police officers tackle is drug use, Lorenz said.

“It destroys our quality of life,” he said.

Glendale Unified School District Board of Education member Chuck Sambar said residents have become proactive in their community to protect their children.

“We do have a serious problem with drug sales to our youths,” he said.

Crescenta Valley Town Council president Grace Andrus said parents have to be aware of their children’s activities.

She said drug use can be tamed if law-enforcement officials find the source of the drugs and arrest drug dealers.

“One person using drugs is one too many,” she said.

 VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.