OFFICERS SELL COCAINE IN STING OPERATION

VICTORVILLE -- At least 18 people were arrested in a reverse sting
operation Thursday night in which narcotics officers took over an
apartment and sold cocaine to willing buyers.

The operation was the first of its kind in six years in the area and
was deemed a complete success, according to Deputy Paul Gallant of
the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Narcotics Detail.

Gallant, along with Detective John Wickum of the Victorville station,
has been planning the sting for two weeks. The effort required
controlled narcotics buys, compiling a 28-person team, getting search
warrants signed and -- essential to the operation -- obtaining a
large amount of rock cocaine for sales.

"You always try to get more than what you think you're going to sell.
So, we got two ounces and then we cut it up and packaged it the way
we were told they sell it out of this apartment," Gallant said. "We
write a court order for the drugs and get it signed by a judge. The
drugs are those that have been ordered to be destroyed from a case
that's been adjudicated."

The first eight people to be arrested were already in the apartment
off Hesperia Road around 5 p.m. when authorities arrived. Once they
were arrested and removed from the home, officials set up shop,
answering the door whenever a prospective buyer arrived.

"They just know that someone in this apartment sells whatever type of
drug they're looking for, and they want the drug so badly they don't
care who they're buying it from," Gallant said, explaining why
arrestees would buy from undercover officers.

"We had big rocks. They are supposed to be $20 rocks. We have the
rocks in a tin, and we'll actually let them take out the rock that
they want so they're actually taking that overt action themselves and
we're not handing it to them," he added.

Originally authorities targeted another residence as well, and one
person was arrested from that home on suspicion of sales of cocaine
and maintaining a residence for drug sales, but no further sales were
conducted out of the woman's residence by officers.

The team was expected to stay at the location until midnight, and the
number of arrestees was likely to increase before authorities called it a day.