RIDGECREST OFFICERS, D.A. BURN METH AND COKE DEALERS IN "OPERATION
SANDBLAST"

Area law men said they sandblasted some social corrosion of the drug culture
from Ridgecrest and California City streets during a year-long operation
that ended recently.

"The goal of this program was to shut down a large part of the drug supply
network in the East Kern area," said District Attorney Ed Jagels. "The
operation resulted in the largest number of sales-related drug convictions
ever accomplished in a single sweep in Kern County."

The Kern County District Attorney's Office coordinated the multi-agency
narcotics crackdown named "Operation Sandblast."

Assistant District Attorney Bill Woodruff emphasized the focus on drug
trafficking between California City and Ridgecrest.

Since October, 1998, officers made 80 illegal drug buys from 70 different
dealers, Jagels noted.

The D.A.'s office has not yet tallied the total seizure of drugs and money,
Woodruff said.

"There was no particular drug that Operation Sandblast focused on," Woodruff
said. "But officers were so proactive that they broke into the drug link
between the cities. This meant a lot of meth and cocaine convictions. But
make no mistake, there was a lot of marijuana rolled up in this
investigation."

The district attorney charged 75 people with selling or having the intention
to sell drugs. Of these, 62 adults plead guilty or no contest, and three
juvenile petitions were found true.

One man was found guilty at trial and one offender is being retried. Five
defendants fled their warrants. Of these, one is in custody, awaiting
extradition from Las Vegas, Ridgecrest police officer Mike Scott said.

Three cases were eventually dismissed. In all, the county brought 71 of the
75 offenders to jail. That's about a 95 percent conviction rate. Many deals
were cut to get guilty pleas in exchange for dropping lesser charges, like
possession of marijuana, a spokesperson from the Public Defender's Office
explained.

"Every one of these people was peddling drugs. They'll certainly see some
time in the can," Woodruff said. "Whether we get them or not, they'll get
caught with drugs eventually. When someone holds up a liquor store or beats
his wife, there's always drugs involved. I wish people would see that you
can choose two things in your life--drugs or everything else."

Though some dealers will see up to 12 years with prior strikes, most
offenders will see between 18 months and two years of actual county prison
time, court officials said. A few Ridgecrest residents expressed concern
that the convicts would see the streets sooner. Woodruff assured them that
only a few lesser offenders will serve local jail time and receive early
release.

"That's one local problem. With limited jail space, they're back to the
temptations of the streets sooner," Woodruff added.

Another local question is whether the seemingly significant bust reduced the
availability of drugs in town. A sampling of local drug users showed the
operation barely mellowed the supply of marijuana. But police succeeded in
jacking up the price and crashing the supply of amphetamines like meth and
cocaine, according to some local drug users.

"I can't tell you if this makes a big dent or a small one," Woodruff said.
But my hat goes off to Ron Strand and Mike Scott. Ridgecrest is blessed to
have a pair of officers like those two men."