DELRAY POLICE, SHOP OWNER FACE OFF OVER LOITERING DRUG DEALERS

DELRAY BEACH -- A short walk from the city's bustling downtown, a drug
market flourishes 24 hours a day along West Atlantic Avenue, with users
pulling up along a curb, buying marijuana and cocaine and then speeding
away, police say.

But who is responsible for shutting down such activity has city officials
and a convenience store owner at odds. For three years, police and the
Bi-Lo Market and Deli owners have been pointing fingers at each other as
drug-related arrests in the area have more than doubled from 25 to 62.

Shutting down the drug flow is seen as a high priority to the city because
officials are hoping to revamp the area's long-neglected strip of businesses.

"They can [help] put an end to it," said Lt. Robert Musco, who commands a
15-member drug task force.

The store's managers, police said, could go outside and order the dealers
off their property, hire security guards, call police every time they see
drug sales and pull out pay phones on the property that the dealers use as
cover when police arrive.

Property owner Michael Hoplamazianand store clerk Alamgir Khan said they
added lights outside, trimmed bushes and installed a security camera. They
said they can't do any more, because they already live in fear of the
people loitering outside. They said police should be cracking down on the
dealers, not them.

"I'm not going to endanger my life," Hoplamazian said.

As the problem remains unresolved, redevelopment has already begun several
blocks away on the 14-block West Atlantic Avenue stretch, which is the
entryway into the downtown from Interstate 95. New sidewalks and decorative
street lights are being installed. A townhouse, condominium and retail
complex is expected to break ground sometime this year. Other road and
building projects are being planned for years to come.

Their successes hang heavily on drawing investors and visitors.
Street-corner drug dealing, officials worry, could hamper the progress.

The city and its Community Redevelopment Agency have spent more than
$900,000 in the past two years to buy and shut down two problematic
businesses, both near the peach-colored Bi-Lo at 926 W. Atlantic Ave.

One was the Back Room nightclub at 909 W. Atlantic Ave., where late- night
noise, fighting and traffic problems brought complaints from nearby
residents. The other was an apartment complex at 26 SW Ninth Ave., where
open-air drug dealing upset neighbors.

The CRA tried to buy the Bi-Lo and the nearby Coin Laundry operation a year
or so ago but considered the asking price of $600,000 too steep, said Diane
Dominguez, the CRA director. In buying the land, the agency wasn't just
trying to get rid of the drug problem, she said. It was looking to assemble
land for a future redevelopment project on that site.

But the agency's tax dollars, Dominguez said, shouldn't be relied upon to
fix every social problem.

"You can't just buy every property," she said.

Unless police and the Bi-Lo owner can resolve the matter through dialogue
and cooperation, police say they have few other recourses except to
continue to make arrests.

They can bring Hoplamazian in front of the city's nuisance abatement board,
which has the authority, among other things, to close down troublesome
businesses for up to a year. But that would be difficult because police
would need to prove that at least three sales and manufacturing of
narcotics had taken place on the property in a six- month period, said
Catherine Kozol, assistant city attorney and police legal adviser.

Police also could ask the U.S. Attorney's Office to attempt to get the
property through a forfeiture procedure, she said. But that, too, would be
hard, she said, because police would need to prove that Hoplamazian is
committing crimes on his property. There's been no evidence that he's
involved in drugs, police said.

"We could avoid the whole thing if the property owner just works with us,"
Kozol said.

The Police Department's main tactic in seeking Hoplamazian's cooperation
has been to send him letters, alerting him that drugs were seized on his
property. Six letters have been sent to him in the past three years, most
saying: "It is important that you make every effort to see that this type
of activity does not occur on your property. We will assist you in this
goal but your cooperation is necessary."

Musco said police purposely didn't use tougher language or require
Hoplamazian to take measures.

"We're trying to build a partnership with him. You don't start that by
issuing orders or mandates," Musco said. "I'm giving him opportunities to
act, but there will be other avenues to explore [if he doesn't cooperate]."

Hoplamazian said he hasn't done anything wrong. He said he's made security
improvements on his property and gave police full access to his land so
they can make arrests.

Police plan to continue pressuring Hoplamazian until, Musco said, he
complies with all their demands.

"All we can do is keep up the vigilance," Musco said.