Homeless Worker Busted for Fentanyl

Christopher Barret Johnson, a 42-year-old Culver City man, was arrested on May 21 on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said. Prosecutors said Los Angeles police stopped Johnson on May 5 near MacArthur Park and later found fentanyl, methamphetamine, cash, empty baggies and a scale in his BMW. The Justice Department said Johnson worked for People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH, a nonprofit that provides homeless services and distributes syringes in Los Angeles and elsewhere. PATH disputed parts of that account, saying Johnson was no longer employed there and that the organization does not provide syringe services in MacArthur Park. ### Who is Christopher Barret Johnson, and what are prosecutors accusing him of? The Justice Department identified Johnson as a Culver City resident and said he worked for People Assisting the Homeless, known as PATH. Federal prosecutors charged him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court. (justice.gov) NBC Los Angeles, citing PATH spokesman Tyler Renner, reported that Johnson worked for the organization until Sept. 16 of last year. Renner said PATH was “outraged and deeply disturbed that an individual would falsely represent themselves as a current employee,” and said the group did not provide syringes or other services in the MacArthur Park area. (justice.gov) ### What happened during the MacArthur Park stop? May 5 is the date prosecutors say Los Angeles Police Department officers were patrolling the MacArthur Park area when they saw a white BMW without a front license plate make an abrupt U-turn at about 10:20 p.m. The officers conducted a traffic stop, and the complaint says Johnson was the only person in the car. (nbclosangeles.com) The affidavit says an officer saw a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine on the center console and noticed Johnson had two knives in his waistband. After ordering him out of the vehicle, officers found another baggie of methamphetamine in his left front pocket, according to the complaint. ### What did police say they found in the car? (justice.gov) Prosecutors said officers searched a partially opened backpack in the BMW and found more baggies containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, a digital scale with fentanyl residue, empty plastic baggies and cash. The complaint says officers also found additional baggies containing fentanyl inside a dish soap container and more cash and plastic baggies in the center console. (justice.gov) Laboratory analysis later confirmed that the drugs seized from Johnson and the vehicle included at least 142 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and nearly 46 grams of methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. NBC Los Angeles reported the same quantities from the federal release. ### What is the dispute over PATH and syringe distribution? (justice.gov) The federal press release said PATH “serves as a vendor distributing syringes,” including in MacArthur Park, and described the neighborhood as an area with high rates of poverty and open-air drug activity. The release tied Johnson’s employment to that nonprofit in announcing the charge. (justice.gov) Tyler Renner, PATH’s spokesman, told NBC Los Angeles that the organization does not provide syringes or services in MacArthur Park and that Johnson’s employment ended months earlier. That leaves a direct conflict between the Justice Department’s description of Johnson’s current role and PATH’s account of his employment status and the group’s work in that specific neighborhood. (justice.gov) ### How does this fit into federal enforcement around MacArthur Park? MacArthur Park was described by federal prosecutors in the complaint as an area “notorious” for the use and sale of methamphetamine and fentanyl in open-air markets. Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a separate takedown targeting what it called an open-air drug market in the park and surrounding area. (nbclosangeles.com) Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, has also announced a Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force focused on fraud, waste, abuse and corruption involving money allocated to address homelessness in the Central District of California. The Johnson case was announced by the same office on May 21. ### What happens next in court? (justice.gov) May 22 was the date set for Johnson’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Justice Department. NBC Los Angeles said it was not immediately known whether he had retained a lawyer. (justice.gov) (justice.gov)