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Bust could cool local drug trade

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  • LESLIE WILBER - VICTORIA ADVOCATE
  • Originally published July 22, 2008 at 12:15 a.m., updated July 22, 2008 at 12:15 a.m.

Arresting street-level drug dealers doesn’t have an effect on local drug supplies, but finding their bosses can.

The 65.4 grams of crack cocaine seized in a Friday night bust is enough to dent the drug trade here, Police Chief Bruce Ure said.

“These guys were way up there on the food chain,” Ure said. “It could have a significant impact on the drug trade.”

Federal authorities have taken over the investigation, Ure said.

They are charging Marcus De Leon Garza, 43, and Kenneth L. Parsons, 40, with possession of a controlled substance and felons in possession of firearms, said Francesca Perot, information officer for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Houston.

Police found a dozen guns stashed around the 2515 Putney St. house during the Friday night raid, Perot said. They also found surveillance cameras, stacks of cash, drugs and one bed.

“The whole house was set up for narcotics trafficking,” Ure said.

Stephen Lovitt, executive director for Billy Cattan Recovery Outreach applauded police for finding the drugs. But serious addicts will find new ways to get high, fast, he said.

“For a while, you’ll see a drop in crack,” said Lovitt, who is a licensed chemical dependency counselor. “It won’t take them long to find another connection.”

San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi aren’t long drives if you’re hankering for a fix, Lovitt said. And drug dealers often drive to Victoria to deliver goods, he said.

For some people, though, Friday’s bust will bring big changes.

“It might get some people off the street and into treatment,” Lovitt said.

Leslie Wilber is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6521 or e-mail her at lwilber@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.



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