Boy, 12, Arrested in Oxnard Drug Investigation

To the undercover officer, the drug dealer seemed a savvy veteran of the trade. Eyeing new customers with suspicion, he spoke the users’ lingo and offered his wares 24 hours a day.

“He was well-schooled, very streetwise,” said Oxnard narcotics Detective Bob Camarillo.

He was also 12 years old.

The thin, dark-haired boy was arrested late Thursday, along with his 25-year-old brother and his brother’s girlfriend, after police raided the family’s home in a crime-ridden south Oxnard neighborhood.

Inside the three-bedroom apartment, detectives seized one ounce of cocaine, about five grams of heroin and $260 cash.

Police say the boy, who is now in foster care, was put to work selling cocaine by his older brother. And, they say, he was sometimes left to care for five younger children.

“What they were doing was sacrificing the life and soul of a 12-year-old for their personal financial gain,” Police Sgt. Mike Matlock said.

“He should be worrying about baseballs and girls and stuff 12-year-olds think about, not whether some junkie’s going to jump him and take the drugs or how he can hide the drugs from police.”

The four-unit apartment building at 5200 Charles St. has been owned by Oxnard City Councilman Bedford Pinkard since 1979, according to property records. Pinkard could not be reached for comment.

Police say it is extremely uncommon for an adolescent to actually conduct drug sales in Ventura County.

“I have seen parents use children to hold drugs or, say, walk out and hand a package to somebody,” Camarillo said. “But this kid knew a lot about the business and how to conduct business.”

Oxnard’s only other comparable case, he said, involved a 14-year-old boy arrested several months ago for selling small amounts of rock cocaine on a street corner in La Colonia.

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In both cases, the boys also were users of the drug. The 14-year-old was heavily addicted to rock cocaine, and the 12-year-old admitted to trying it once, Camarillo said.

The 12-year-old’s brother, Roberto Guadalupe Avitia, and Avitia’s 21-year-old girlfriend, Maria Raquel Chavez, were booked into County Jail on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale, using a minor to sell cocaine and willful cruelty to a child.

They were being held in lieu of $10,000 bail each and are scheduled to be arraigned in Ventura County Municipal Court on Monday.

The boy was cited, police said, and a juvenile probation officer will recommend how his case should be handled.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Terence M. Kilbride said that if convicted, the couple could face up to nine years in state prison for using the 12-year-old to sell drugs, and up to five years in prison for selling cocaine.

“This is probably a very common charge down in L.A. where gang members typically use younger kids in a gang (to sell drugs),” he said.

In fact, Kilbride said, the state law creating stiffer penalties for using a minor to sell drugs was passed as a result of activity by Los Angeles street gangs.

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“They wanted to make sure those people inducing the younger members into doing it got a pretty healthy sentence,” he said.

Police began their investigation of the apartment about two weeks ago when they got a tip about a child peddling drugs at the door.

Working undercover, Camarillo said he twice went to the apartment, where the 12-year-old answered the door and sold him small amounts of cocaine for $40 and $20.

The boy was turned over to Child Protective Services, along with his 10-year-old sister and 6-year-old brother.

The three children of Avitia and Chavez--a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old baby--were also placed in foster care pending the outcome of the criminal case and a custody hearing, officials said.

During an interview with police, the young boy was shy but cooperative, police said.

The boy, who is due to enter eighth grade at Charles Blackstock Junior High in the fall, told police he was selling the cocaine because “his brother threatened him and made him do it,” Camarillo said.

The 12-year-old’s mother also lives in the apartment, but was at church during the drug raid and was not arrested, Camarillo said.

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On Friday, several women and a young man were cleaning out the Charles Street apartment, piling furniture and clothing in a pickup truck parked out front.

“I’m just helping them out,” said the man, who declined to give his name.

The apartment is in the Southwinds neighborhood--an area where police have for years fought a pitched battle against drugs, gangs and blight.

Many alleys are strewn with trash and junk cars and marked with graffiti. The area has a high concentration of apartment buildings, many of which are fortified with wrought-iron window bars.

A 16-year-old boy, who has lived near the scene of Thursday’s raid for about six years, said he has been jolted awake at night by the sound of gunshots behind his home.

“That’s why my mother said next summer we’re getting out of here, going back East,” he said.

The youth said Avitia and his family had lived in the apartment only for a few months. Because of heavy foot traffic to the door, the boy said he suspected drugs were being sold.

‘Before, it used to be just like gangs (selling drugs),” said the 16-year-old. “Now it’s just regular people you wouldn’t think of.”