Suspects Toss Cocaine on Streets During Chase, Police Say

Residents of a quiet street in Walnut Park got a surprise Wednesday afternoon when a passenger in a car being pursued by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies threw handfuls of cocaine out the window.

Deputies were trying to pull over the driver for a traffic violation, but instead of stopping the driver sped up and turned onto 76th Place, said Deputy Diane Hecht. Then, for about four blocks, the driver began throwing the cocaine out the window.

As the driver turned north on Crockett Boulevard, the passenger threw a cardboard box filled with cocaine from the car, Hecht said.

“The suspects finally stopped on Crockett Boulevard at Florence Avenue . . . when they became pinned in by traffic,” she said.

Joe Wilson, 23, and Valerio Arzate, 28, both of Los Angeles, were arrested and booked at the sheriff’s Century station on suspicion of transportation and sales of cocaine. The two gang members, Hecht said, were being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Arzate, who was the passenger, threw the cocaine out the window, Hecht said.

A two-block area was cordoned off while deputies gathered about two-thirds of a pound of the drug for evidence, she said, adding that the passenger seat and floorboard of the car were covered with the powder.