COBRA team, city code enforcers, clean up Newhall block

Participants in Thursday's Block cleanup. Courtesy photo, SCV Sheriff Station.
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Local sheriff’s deputies and city code enforcers rolled up their sleeves and cleaned up a problem-plagued block around one apartment building in Newhall Thursday night, responding to a series of recurring complaints.


Drug dealing, graffiti, littering, loitering, drinking in the street and noise were some of the complaints made by residents on 24000 block of Pine Street.

Inside one particular garage on the block, cleanup crews allegedly found people loitering, drinking and doing drugs.

By the end of night, three people were arrested on suspicion of felonies, two on misdemeanors and two were issued citations.

“Together, (the city and Sheriff’s Station) worked to improve quality of life,” said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, noting the joint team of cops and civic workers acted on information received from residents and from complaints filed with LA Crimestopper TIPS.

Members of the station’s Career Offenders, Robbery, Burglary Assault team, or COBRA, were the ones responding to reports of crimes.

“On Thursday night, our COBRA detectives set out to tackle these areas and assist in getting them ‘cleaned up,’” Miller said.

City staffers were the ones looking for city code violations.

Denise Covert, interim community preservation manger, said Friday that “The city and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station work very closely together to ensure our community remains a safe place for our residents and visitors.”

“The city’s Community Preservation team accompanied the Sheriff’s (Station) on a sweep of an apartment building on Pine Street, in order to address any potential public safety issues or violations of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code,” Covert said Friday.

Asked if any city code violations or citations were issued by city staffers during the sweep, city spokeswoman Carrie Lujan said: “The case is still being reviewed.”

Miller described the code enforcement as: “Multiple violations were documented and will be followed up on.

“COBRA did some clean-up last night,” she said, regarding the operation. “You told us about problems in your neighborhood, we listened.”

A Los Angeles County probation officer also joined in the effort.

Probation compliance search operations were carried out at four locations, Miller said.

In three out of the four targeted areas, the probationer was found to be in violation of their probationary terms.

The block cleanup took in two public parks in Newhall and Valencia where detectives carried out some surveillance, she said.

Deputies carried out a patrol operation along the 24200 block of Pine Street in Newhall.

And when detectives received word that groups of individuals were congregating in an apartment complex garage engaging in illegal activity, they converged on the garage.

When detectives arrived there, they detained and interviewed a dozen people.

Officials warned the group about not loitering and drinking alcohol in the garage, Miller said. Two people were arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine use.

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