Homeless Worker Busted for Fentanyl Possession

Christopher Barret Johnson, a 42-year-old Culver City man who works for the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless, was arrested on May 21 on a federal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said Johnson worked for a nonprofit that distributes syringes to homeless drug users in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The arrest followed a May 5 traffic stop near MacArthur Park, where police said they found fentanyl, methamphetamine, cash and packaging materials in his BMW. The Justice Department identified Johnson as an employee of PATH, a large homelessness-services nonprofit that offers street outreach, interim housing and permanent housing, and that also serves as a syringe-distribution vendor, according to the federal press release. Prosecutors said Johnson was expected to make his initial appearance on May 22 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. (justice.gov) ### Who is the worker charged in the case? Johnson was identified by federal prosecutors as a PATH employee who distributed syringes to homeless drug users in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The complaint charges him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a federal drug-trafficking offense. PATH was named in the Justice Department release as the nonprofit employer. (justice.gov) The organization provides services to homeless people including street outreach and housing, prosecutors said. The release did not say whether PATH had taken any employment action against Johnson. ### What did police say they found during the stop near MacArthur Park? (justice.gov) May 5 is the date prosecutors gave for the traffic stop that led to the charge. Los Angeles police officers patrolling the MacArthur Park area saw a white BMW without a front license plate make an abrupt U-turn at about 10:20 p.m. and pulled it over, according to an affidavit summarized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (justice.gov) Officers said Johnson appeared nervous, and one officer saw a baggie containing methamphetamine in plain view on the center console, according to the affidavit. Prosecutors said officers also saw two knives in Johnson’s waistband, then found more methamphetamine on his person and additional drugs in a partially opened backpack and a dish soap container inside the vehicle. (justice.gov) Laboratory analysis later confirmed the seizure included at least 142 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and nearly 46 grams of methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Prosecutors also said officers recovered a digital scale with fentanyl residue, empty plastic baggies and cash from the BMW. (justice.gov) ### Why does MacArthur Park keep appearing in federal drug cases? MacArthur Park was the site of a separate federal takedown announced on May 6, when prosecutors said 18 defendants were arrested in an operation targeting an open-air drug market in and around the park. That complaint charged 25 defendants, and law enforcement said one search in Calabasas turned up about 18 kilograms of fentanyl. (justice.gov) Bill Essayli, then the first assistant U.S. attorney quoted in that release, said authorities were “reclaiming MacArthur Park from criminals and drug addicts.” DEA official Anthony Chrysanthis and Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell also described the area as a persistent center of drug sales and addiction. (justice.gov) ### Has the Justice Department been focusing on homelessness-related cases in Los Angeles? April 8, 2025 is when U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced a Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force for the Central District of California. The office said the task force would investigate fraud, waste, abuse and corruption involving money allocated to address homelessness across the district’s seven counties. (justice.gov) The task force announcement dealt with homelessness funding, not syringe programs or Johnson’s case. But it underscored the federal office’s broader attention to homelessness-related systems in Los Angeles County, where the U.S. attorney’s office said the homeless population exceeded 75,000. ### What happens next in Johnson’s case? (justice.gov) May 22 was the date set for Johnson’s initial appearance in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, according to prosecutors. The complaint is an initial charging document, and the case would next proceed through a detention decision, possible preliminary hearing or indictment, and later court filings if prosecutors pursue the charge. (justice.gov) (justice.gov)