Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jun 2005 Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV) Copyright: 2005 The Herald-Dispatch Contact: http://www.hdonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454 Author: Bryan Chambers Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COCAINE TRAIL Violence, Intimidation At Heart Of Crack Trade HUNTINGTON -- The city of Huntington has learned the hard way that behind the shadows of a smalltime crack cocaine street dealer is a violent world of drug trafficking that begins in South America and spreads like wildfire to U.S. cities both large and small. Law enforcement officials say the people involved in the drug trade in Huntington -- whether they come from Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, or the Tri-State -- are no different than other traffickers across the country. These incidents have shaken Tri-State residents and shed light on what police say is a thriving enterprise controlled by traffickers from large metropolitan areas. In the Tri-State and Kanawha Valley, dealers from Detroit and Columbus control the market. In southern West Virginia, traffickers from Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia are prevalent. And in the Northern and Eastern panhandles, dealers from Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and New York make frequent visits. "The drugs flowing into West Virginia come from all over," said Jeff Wallenstrom, resident agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Charleston office. "If you live close to a major city in a neighboring state, you can bet some drugs from that city are going to make it into your part of the state. West Virginia is essentially a user state." Other than preying on the weak or intimidating and inflicting violence on anyone who crosses their path, there are few patterns to a trafficker's business practices, law enforcement officials say. Some get friends to rent vehicles to come to West Virginia, while others take the train or bus. Some drive on U.S. 23, a traditional corridor from Appalachia to urban centers, while others take lesser-known routes, stashing large amounts of cash and drugs in small towns along the way. And some come to West Virginia alone for the weekend, while others travel in groups, setting up elaborate crack houses with security devices. But law enforcement officials say they all come to West Virginia for the same reason -- money. There's so much money to be made, many traffickers who come to Huntington refer to the city as "Moneyington." "The out-of-towners are like water," Hoke said. "They will take the path with easiest resistance to make the most money and head back home without getting caught." West Virginia ripe for crack cocaine trade Because most West Virginia cities are far away from large metropolitan areas and are perceived to have less aggressive law enforcement agencies than their urban counterparts, they are tempting targets for traffickers looking to make larger profits, said Joe Ciccarelli, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent in Charleston. "A lot of it has to do with the simple economic theory of supply and demand," Ciccarelli said. "Huntington, for example, is a demand city, and there is not enough supply. As demand goes up, so does price. Dealers from Detroit, which is saturated with suppliers, come to West Virginia where they can make two or three times as much money as they can back home." Ciccarelli also attributes West Virginia's massive population loss for the influx of out-of-state dealers. West Virginia's population has dropped from 2 million to about 1.8 million since 1950, according to the U.S. Census. Similarly, Huntington's population has plummeted from 86,000 to 51,000 during the same time period. As families flocked to urban centers for a better life, they also left behind relatives in West Virginia. As a result, many drug dealers or couriers who come to West Virginia have family ties here, Ciccarelli said. "There's a lot of people in Detroit and Columbus who are native West Virginians," Ciccarelli said. "It's not that foreign of an idea for them or their descendants to come back and start selling crack." Another theory among the law enforcement community about why the Mountain State is so attractive to out-of-state dealers is the availability of firearms. Guns generally are easier to purchase in West Virginia than in northern states, said Paul Cross, resident agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Charleston. Cross explained that dealers exchange drugs for guns or have someone legally buy weapons for them in West Virginia. They take the guns back to their city and sell them for two or three times more than what they are worth, he said. "The money they get from selling guns is used to purchase more crack so they can return to West Virginia and double or triple their money again," Cross said. Shortly after the city of Charleston passed an ordinance restricting the purchase of guns to one per month, the Legislature adopted a bill prohibiting cities from regulating the sale of firearms, Cross said. "The state's gun laws attract a lot of unsavory characters to our cities," he said. "Based on what I've seen, cities or states that have a strict firearms law stops it. You just can't make any money from buying one gun per month." 'These people are predators' Mike Brammer knows first-hand the intimidation tactics that drug traffickers use when someone is snooping into their business. A couple years ago, the Huntington Avenue resident said he saw two men making a drug transaction on a street around the corner from his home. He called the police, but when they arrived, the men scattered, he said. "I think I could still see the taillights on the cop cars leaving when one of those guys ran out into the street and emptied an entire clip in my direction," Brammer said. "He was sending me a warning that he was bothered that I had called the cops." Though drug activity has been relatively quiet since the quadruple homicide on Charleston Avenue, Brammer said he expects business to pick back up any day now. "They are so brazen now," Brammer said. "It's pure defiance." Intimidation plays a key role in gaining a foothold on a community's drug market, Hoke said. A drug trafficker who has a reputation for being violent is going to face less problems selling their merchandise, he said. "The problem is that intimidation is the mentality of many crack dealers, not just a few," Hoke said. "When they butt heads, you have two immovable objects, and neither one is going to back down. That's how a lot of the violence begins." Huntington resident Carolyn Wright, who lives in the 900 block of 22nd Street, has seen the effects of intimidation in her neighborhood. For the past two weeks, she said she has tried to form a community watch with her neighbors, but no one is willing to get involved. "People are afraid of retaliation," Wright said. "I can't do it alone." While drug traffickers look at some residents as enemies, they also prey on those who will assist them. Law enforcement officials say the most common targets are young women or poor, single mothers, substance abusers who will do anything for their next fix and the mentally ill. In August 2004, two Columbus men were arrested on drug trafficking charges after police discovered they had been selling crack cocaine out of a man's apartment in the 300 block of 5th Avenue. For days, the dealers would buy the man soda and potato chips in exchange for using his apartment, Huntington police said. "These people are predators," Ciccarelli said. "They will play the gangster role to attract young women and move into their homes. It would be a lot easier on law enforcement if it wasn't so easy for them to gain this power base." The only way that Huntington and other West Virginia communities stand a chance of staving off drug traffickers is if residents take a stand, Brammer said. The Charleston Avenue shootings have enraged the entire community, and now is the time to capture that emotion and direct it toward something positive, he said. "I just pray to God that these shootings serve as a wake-up call," Brammer said. "We're slow on the uptake, but they may have awakened a sleeping giant." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom