A California outreach worker employed by a prominent homeless-services nonprofit has been arrested on federal narcotics charges after police allegedly discovered fentanyl and methamphetamine in his vehicle near one of Los Angeles most notorious open-air drug markets.
According to The Post Millennial, 42-year-old Christopher Barret Johnson of Culver City, who works for People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), was taken into custody following a traffic stop earlier this month near MacArthur Park, an area recently targeted in a federal drug raid. PATH, a nationwide nonprofit that receives public and private funding, provides various services to the homeless, including the distribution of syringes and other so?called harm reduction supplies.
Federal prosecutors have charged Johnson with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a crime that carries a potential sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison if he is convicted. The Department of Justice noted that PATH often distributes drug paraphernalia to drug addicts in MacArthur Park, a neighborhood long plagued by open-air methamphetamine and fentanyl markets and the disorder that accompanies them.
On May 5, Los Angeles Police Department officers patrolling the MacArthur Park area at approximately 10:20 p.m. observed Johnson driving a white BMW with a missing front license plate and making an abrupt U-turn in front of their patrol vehicle, according to an affidavit. Officers initiated a traffic stop, during which they allegedly saw in plain view on the BMW's center console a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine.
Johnson, who appeared very nervous, was ordered out of the car, the affidavit states, and officers then conducted a pat-down search that revealed a bag of methamphetamine in his left pant pocket. A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered a backpack containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, a digital scale with fentanyl residue, cash, and empty plastic baggies, items consistent with drug distribution rather than personal use.
Laboratory testing later confirmed that the seized narcotics included at least 142 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and approximately 46 grams of methamphetamine. These quantities, combined with the packaging materials and scale, significantly elevate the case beyond mere possession and underscore the lethal volume of drugs allegedly in circulation.
Residents and businesses in MacArthur Park and elsewhere have long complained about the wisdom of distributing syringes to homeless drug addicts where law-abiding citizens live and work, said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. They call these policies ' harm reduction.' I consider them 'harm enabling.' Giving drug-addicted users needles to shoot up meth and fentanyl is never a good idea.
Johnson is scheduled to appear in federal court at the Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. The case is likely to intensify scrutiny of taxpayer-backed harm reduction strategies that critics argue normalize addiction, fuel street-level crime, and fail the very communities they claim to serve.
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