DRUG STING PUTS DIFFERENT FACE ON EAST PALO ALTO

OVER THE weekend in East Palo Alto, San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force
agents arrested nine hapless folks they say came to town to buy drugs.

The ``connection'' or ``candy man'' -- in the vernacular of the street --
was a cop.

Reading the names of the arrested, it was no surprise to me that eight of
the nine do not live in East Palo Alto. They live in Palo Alto, Mountain
View, Santa Clara, South San Francisco, Redwood City and Sunnyvale.

I recalled riveting testimony in the 1997 documentary, ``Dreams of a City:
Creating East Palo Alto.''

An East Palo Alto woman described how her outrage at witnessing a drug buy
overcame her control and prompted her to jump out of her car at a stoplight
and unleash her a fury on the purchaser.

She told him his drug money and his presence were unwelcome in her
community2E

Certainly there are some drug users in the city. But East Palo Alto Police
Chief Wesley Bowling, who has done several stings and who also collaborates
with the Narcotics Task Force, says 90 percent of drug purchasers are from
out of town.

``We sit in a precarious position on the main corridor from Silicon Valley
to the East Bay,'' he explained.

``We get a lot of commuters crossing the Dumbarton Bridge who stop on the
way to San Jose or on the way back to purchase drugs.''

PEOPLE WHO don't know anyone in East Palo Alto -- who never visit a friend,
or attend a benefit -- stereotype and do not understand that the face of the
community is not a drug dealer.

As Lt. Don O'Keefe, commander of the Narcotics Task Force put it, ``Only a
small percentage are bad and the rest are good, hardworking, decent people.
They deserve to have a safe community.''

So what happens to these suspects charged with purchase and possession of
rock cocaine: Ronald L. Weems, Redwood City, delivery person; Mehrzad
Amalldo, Sunnyvale, computer worker; Robert J. Lavalley, Palo Alto,
disabled; James Arness Davis, Mountain View, food server; Stanley Lee,
Mountain View, hair dresser; Ronald Green, East Palo Alto, unemployed; Derek
Wayne Bynum, Santa Clara, cashier; Todd Jeffrey Callantine, Palo Alto,
computer engineer and John Hadley Moses (driver), South San Francisco,
scientist?

It can be a wake-up call.

``How many people drive drunk before being stopped?'' said O'Keefe. ``A lot
of people once they are stopped, change their behavior. Maybe they have a
substance abuse problem. Someone finally holds them accountable.

``The positive thing about getting arrested is that we have a great program
in San Mateo County. We have prevention, intervention, treatment and
enforcement.''

This past weekend, relieved East Palo Alto citizens cheered as the suspect
johns of the dope world were being hauled off.

Over the years, residents have fought back.

BILL VINES is assistant principal at Woodside High, an East Palo Alto
resident and a former council member. He and other residents formed a group
called Just Us and stood on corners each day, filmed buyers and wrote their
license plate numbers.

``I was very much surprised at the number of people from outside the city
and also very amazed how the information about where to go to purchase was
disseminated outside the community,'' Vines said, describing a pay phone
system involving a code number for drug buyers.

And when police phoned to say Just Us had reported their presence, it was
very effective, Vines said.

Occasionally Just Us members knocked on the doors, armed with photo
documentation.

It seemed brave.

``Brave? Well, we were kind of angry,'' laughed Vines.

The drug stings will continue. And from what O'Keefe and Bowling say, if you
come to East Palo Alto to purchase drugs, bring your toothbrush.

Contact Loretta Green at lgreen@sjmercury.com or (650) 688-7565. Fax (650)
688-7555.