The feds continue to convict and put away drug dealers at various levels of the food chain who worked the streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin. And while others likely quickly moved in to replace them, this is perhaps taking some fentanyl off the streets?

Three years ago, then U.S. Attorney David Anderson announced a plan for a prosecutorial sweep across the Tenderloin — and based on headlines, recent arrests, and Mayor London Breed's emergency declaration of seven months ago, we can all judge for ourselves how much of an impact that had.

"The Tenderloin has become a magnet for retail drug trafficking to an extraordinary degree," Anderson said in August 2019. "It is my belief that those people living, working and visiting the Tenderloin neighborhood should not be required to run a gauntlet of crime."

The effort, involving 15 agencies, was dubbed the "Federal Initiative for the Tenderloin," and Anderson said it would focus only dealers trafficking in large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and meth, and that it would last one year. In May of 2019, the Chronicle's Phil Matier spoke to prosecutors and the SFPD and wrote about how most Tenderloin drug dealing was "controlled by two gangs."

One of the high-level dealers/crew leaders whom DEA agents arrested as part of that effort, 27-year-old Andy Manuel Reanos-Moreno, did not end up pleading guilty to federal drug trafficking charges until November 2021. And as the Department of Justice announced Tuesday, Reanos-Moreno has now been sentenced to six years in prison.

As part of his plea, Reanos-Moreno admitted to running his crew of "redistributors" between "at least January 15, 2019, to July 31, 2019," and he said his dealers were expected to purchase drugs for resale from him only. Prosecutors say that Reanos-Moreno "used undocumented street-level dealers and used his knowledge of immigration laws to threaten dealers who did not sell enough narcotics for the organization."

Reanos-Moreno admitted to providing housing for his crew of dealers, and using their employment and housing as leverage to get them to sell more drugs.

The government's sentencing memorandum for Reanos-Moreno says he "used his legal immigration status, his knowledge of real estate in the area, and his ability to pay upfront costs such as deposits on apartments as a means of both enticing street-level dealers to work for his organization and then holding their feet to the fire to ensure that they sold enough drugs or else they would lose their housing or face potential legal jeopardy."

In addition to the six-year sentence, Judge Charles R. Breyer also ordered Reanos-Moreno to serve four years of supervised release, and to forfeit over $25,000 that was seized from his home at the time of arrest three years ago. Reanos-Moreno has been in custody since that time, so presumably with time served, he'll be jailed an additional three years.

News about multiple Tenderloin drug figures and their sentences, some of them caught up in that 2019 sweep by federal agencies and others arrested since then, has been coming from the DoJ for a couple of months. Just last week, we learned that 33-year-old Emil Arriola Melendez of South San Francisco had been sentenced to four years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl. This was after federal prosecutors linked his sales of fentanyl in the Tenderloin to a dealer who provided fatal doses of fentanyl to three people who died in Trinity County in August of last year.

A somewhat lower-level dealer, 26-year-old Jose Alvarado, was busted by undercover federal agents earlier this year for selling over 40 grams of fentanyl and eight grams of meth in multiple transactions in the Tenderloin.

Last fall, eight individuals were charged with conspiracy by the feds, "each in connection with the activities of one of two drug trafficking organizations that are alleged to have supplied the Tenderloin district of San Francisco with copious amounts of narcotics."

Photo: Darwin Bell

A 36-year-old Napa woman was arrested Friday on suspicion of trafficking heroin and methadone, and using false identification. While the suspect, Delicia Gomez, was being booked at the Napa County Department of Corrections, detectives additionally found she was carrying three baggies of heroin.

Oh, and did we mention — Delicia Gomez is an elementary school teacher at a Vallejo private religious school. Want to get away?

KRON 4 reports that Napa police had suspected Gomez of dealing heroin, and served a search warrant at her apartment on August 10. They found methadone and a California ID belonging to someone else, but no heroin. The investigation continued and apparently uncovered additional evidence, at which point Gomez was arrested Friday. While booking Gomez, police found three more bags of what they suspect is heroin on her.

KRON 4 also had the nerve to go banging on Gomez's front door with cameras on, as seen in the video above. A supposed roommate of hers answered the front door, and quickly slammed it with a ‘No comment.’ Property managers at the apartment told KRON 4 that the roommate was not living there legally.

Residents of Marina Drive, where Gomez lives, were naturally pretty shocked. “It’s a very safe neighborhood here,” neighbor Laura Bacharach told KRON 4. “We have children running around everywhere. That fact that she works with children, and she was doing this right in our front yard is a little bit scary.

Police are declining to name the elementary school at which Gomez teaches.

The Napa District Attorney is expected to charge Gomez with possession of a controlled substance for sale, and bringing a controlled substance into a correctional facility. She’s currently in jail, with bail set at $53,000.

Related: Vallejo Is Whack: Mutilated Goat Found In Same Area As Dead Dogs

Every conversation about San Francisco's homeless problem needs to include an understanding of the growing injection drug problem that's affecting not only our city, but many around the nation in recent years. Addiction, and in particular heroin addiction, is largely responsible for a hefty percentage of the root causes of homelessness here, and the Chronicle's Heather Knight recently sat down with Dr. Barry Zevin, the medical director of San Francisco's Homeless Outreach Team to understand this better. Zevin has done over two decades of work with the City's Department of Health, and he's therefore a font of information about the drug epidemic that plagues much of our local homeless population.

Zevin and his team treat approximately 1,000 homeless people annually, 75 percent of whom are addicted to heroin. And the number of heroin users seeking treatment in San Francisco has been on the rise for at least three years, with a 15 percent uptick between 2014 and 2015 alone.

First things first — let's get the terminology straight. According to the 55-year-old Bernal Heights doctor, "injection drugs" is actually the preferred term over "intravenous drugs" these days, given that many users no longer have functioning veins they're injecting the drugs into.

"People might be using heroin for 20 years, and the really pleasant part of it might have been the first few months and then another 19½ years is a kind of misery," explained Zevin.

Zevin also talks about something you've likely heard about, or seen a recent documentary about on HBO: The nation has the over-prescription of opioid painkillers to blame for the current heroin epidemic, as drug cartels began selling cheap heroin in the US in recent years, with many of the buyers being opioid addicts who couldn't afford prescription pills anymore.

A post shared by Antoine RMS (@antoinerms) on Feb 26, 2017 at 7:43am PST

Zevin credits the recently rapid construction growth and development within the city as one of the main reasons that heroin use is taking place so blatantly out in the open. Drug users used to have empty lots and abandoned buildings in which to hide and use. San Francisco real estate is too valuable to be left empty these days, and those heroin users have no choice but to spill out onto the streets.

Further, Zevin notes that around San Francisco's Civic Center, one sees a lot of use of both heroin and methamphetamine, which he calls "a relatively unusual combination of drugs" compared to other city centers around the country. "Drug use is very local," he says, adding that around the Tenderloin more people may be using meth as a way to stay awake at night and avoid rousting by police.

In 2016, we heard about the huge uptick in the use of the overdose-antidote drug naloxone by police and first-responders on the streets of SF, in response to the growing heroin epidemic, and this means that potentially hundreds of heroin users' lives have been saved — though their burden on the city's emergency services continues.

As one might imagine, Zevin is a proponent of safe injection sites (a concept that's receiving a new push via the Board of Supervisors, as we discussed here last week.) "So yeah, someplace different — clean, safer, with services that come with it and entry into treatment — I am definitely supportive of."

Knight's whole Q&A with Zevin is worth your eyeballs.

Related: City Drug-Injection Sites Endorsed By Department Of Public Health Director

The city's senior health official endorsed the idea of establishing safe-injection sites for intravenous drug users yesterday at a Board of Supervisors meeting, aligning herself with what she says is clear scientific evidence in support of the idea and putting her in opposition to the position of the Mayor's office. Mission Local reports that the statement of support, made by Department of Public Health director Barbara Garcia, will likely provide ammunition to Supervisor David Campos who has backed the idea in the past.

“We know that in many of our public locations, people are shooting up drugs," the Examiner quotes Garcia as saying. "We know in the bathroom at 101 Grove [Street] people come into shoot drugs. We just have to acknowledge that publicly. We do have to find resources and locations for people to be safe in those needs.”

According to the Chronicle, Garcia said that in order for the sites to make a lasting difference the city would need to open around six of them at an estimated cost of roughly $3.5 million per year. However, she suggested that even one site could have a positive impact. “I think even if we were to open one it would be very successful.”

Mayor Ed Lee, who is traveling out of the country, has not immediately issued a statement on the matter. His spokesperson, Deirdre Hussey, on the other hand was quick to jump into the fray. “There are many issues with this, the main issue being that it is currently illegal under state and federal law,” Hussey told the Chron. “As the director of public health stated, there are many considerations, including what neighborhoods to place them in and what the impact on those neighborhoods would be, as well as medical liability, cost and the long-term effectiveness of such a program.”

This is not the first time safe-injection sites have been discussed. In fact, there was some hope they would be included in the city's Navigation Centers, but language allowing for them was removed from the legislation approving the shelters at the behest of Jeff Kositsky, the head of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

Even with the support of Garcia and Campos, who told the Chronicle that he believed "most people are open to this as an option, because the status quo is so bad,” we're not likely to see the idea in practice anytime soon. That is because, as Hussey pointed out, it's presently against state law. Even so, Garcia has made waves simply by acknowledging the city would be well served by safe-injection sites. “It’s a good idea,” she said. “The research has already shown that it does provide a safe access for getting health-related services and also an ability to inject in a safe location.”

Related: Video: Step Inside The New Homeless Navigation Center In The Mission

The owner of the black Acura Integra caught on tape sideswiping two cyclists in Berkeley last week was arrested Friday afternoon in connection with the incident. The vehicle's owner, 43-year-old Michael Patrick Medaglia of Oakland was booked on charges of felony hit-run and violation of probation as well as felony possession of ammunition and heroin.

Medaglia had reported the vehicle as stolen on the day of the crash. After Oakland Police picked up the vehicle in Glenview late last week, they found the owner at the Jack London Inn holed up with his cache of heroin and ammo.

The two cyclists were banged up in the crash, suffering some abrasions and torn clothing, but they were able to walk away from the wreck that left their bikes significantly damaged. The cyclist's handlebar-mounted video of the incident has been viewed over 200,000 times since SFist first posted it.

Medaglia was booked in to Alameda County Jail and investigators are still seeking eyewitnesses and additional evidence in the case.

Previously: Driver In Berkeley Caught On Camera In Hit-Run On Cyclists, Berkeley Hit-Run Vehicle Turns Up In Oakland, Reported Stolen
[KTVU]

A heroin smuggling ring that involved transporting hundreds of kilos at a time hidden in train engines and compartments has been busted up by federal authorities, as announced yesterday by Acting U.S. Attorney Larry Brown. The heroin operation first came to the attention via two undercover cops in SF's Tenderloin, who ultimately helped trace the drugs back to Michoacan, Mexico, from whence they were smuggled in trains through Southern California, up the Central Valley, and ultimately being sold in SF, Oakland and East Palo Alto. The operation, codenamed "Operation City Commuter," uncovered 200kg of the good stuff and $670,000 in cash, and the whole ring was estimated at over $17M. So remember to take pity when you see those smack kids (who all have dogs, by the way) asking for change: their heroin just got a lot more expensive.

Be prepared to pay more for your tar this weekend. Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that agents from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement nabbed a Mexican resident, Adam Alfonso Herrera, and "seized 70 pounds of heroin from his Lincoln Towncar on Sacramento Street in East Palo Alto." Herrera, 27, hid a whopping 70 pounds of heroin inside a secret compartment of his car. (!) In a press release, Brown announced, "[w]ith a street value of $7 million, this is the largest heroin seizure ever made in San Mateo County. Herrera was arrested and tossed into the San Mateo County Jail for "possession of heroin for sale and for possession of a hidden compartment." His bail has been set at $5 million.

-- Golem: Sadly, this has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings' heroin addict creature. Joyously, this has everything to do with the fact that this is a mist rocking six-piece Eastern European/NYC folk-punk band. Come hear them along with the Trifles, bran(...)pos, DJ Snuffy the Talking Fire Engine starting at 9 p.m. at 12 Galaxies; $12-15.

-- Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977): Wow, okay, like this is just like totally the greatest movie, ever. For reals. It stars Diane Keaton as a school teach-cum-horny drugg addict who gets it in the end. And the end? Is one of the most jarring film conclusion's ever put on screen. Tuesday Weld, by the way, is nothing short of genius in LFMG. Screens at 9:05 p.m. at the Castro Theatre; $6-9.

-- Ask a Scientist: Time to put on your thinking caps and ask those questions you've been dying to ask. Tonight's topic is Synesthesia, which "involves the blending of the senses, in which shapes have taste, sounds have form, and black letters appear in colors." Oh my. And the discussion is led by Lynn Robertson, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. A perfect night for all you nutjobs. Starts at 7:30 p.m. at Axis Cafe; free.

Although a press conference happening this afternoon will tell us all of the gory details, this morning an Oakland drug bust went down. It was one of the largest of its kind in the East Bay, ever. "Biggest drug busts in years," squealed giddy authorities.

At the dewy-fresh hour of 6 a.m., Oakland police officers, Alameda County sheriff's deputies, and agents with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI went on an Oakland-wide spree of busts for heroin trafficking (as well as "cocaine and marijuana, " at least according to this morning's Mornings On 2's.)

It seems, though, that the focus was on tar heroin trafficking from a sole distributor in Central Valley. (Meth, heroin, trailers, unbearable heat -- what fun doesn't the Central Valley have!?)

As mentioned in today's Chronicle, the idea of a safe-space in which intravenous drug users can shoot up -- without fear of arrests, beatings, rapes, or whatever happens in those movies after heroin's sweet release -- might become a reality. Or at least, discussed in length at this Thursday's all-day symposium hosted by the city Department of Public Health.

Anyway, it might help reduce the number of HIV and Hep C infections, similar 65 centers in eight other countries have proved effective, blah, blah. The real question here is: which neighborhood will be lucky enough to get this legal opium den? The Tenderloin, probably. But we think Hayes Valley would be nicer. The little boutiques around there are simply adorable! Even cuter while chasing the dragon, we would imagine.

But our money is on The Castro. The safe-space could be a futuristically-designed chic space, it would return some much needed provocative credibility back to the hood, and the addicts could just roll down Market Street after their done. Fun!

According to this map we saw right near the Ferry Building, it looks like the borders are Taylor, Bush, O'Farrell, and Van Ness, shrinking the Official Tenderloin to a mere twenty-ish square blocks. But wait...isn't Larkin Street now Little Saigon? How'd we miss the official renaming of NoMa? Is it going to have an incestuous relationship with NoPa? Would the kids be heroin-addicted H&M shoppers feasting on rotisserie chicken? The mind reels.

The Chron article explores two possible remedies: syringes with retractable needles (which cost much more than normal syringes), and 24 hour biohazard drop boxes. It turns out that the San Francisco AIDS foundation, which runs most of the city's needle exchange programs is going to install a drop box at Sixth and Mission within the next six weeks. The idea is that addicts aren't necessarily going to wait around for programs to open to dump their used syringes, hence the drop boxes.

Will all of this work? Tough to say. The SFPD was calling outreach services for one of our neighborhood homeless folks in front of our apartment when we went running this morning, and there were still seven or eight piled-high shopping carts at Alvord Lake in the Park at nine-fifteen. We'll check back in a few weeks - the Chronicle will probably have forgotten all about this by then, but we run through the Haight nearly every day.

Image of a retractable syringe from Pet Remembrance Products.

Noc Noc is the establishment. At 557 Haight (between Fillmore and Steiner) some industrious folks have created a room to satisfy your inner Flintstone, er, your inner Flintstone hopped up on heroin speedballs, that is. Noc Noc is quite possibly the most unique place to drink beer and/or wine you've ever been to. Seemingly carved out of Mother Earth herself, with Frank Gehry and Dalí throwing in a few shots for good luck, there are no corners for you to cower into. Nooks, yes; recesses, perhaps; niches in which to Romeo your Juliet, um, yeah!

Wondering at which point the designers of the place robbed the latest Tim Burton movie set, we felt oddly comfortable along the center table, thinking that we were doing better than the folks sprawled out on the floor on thin cushions, giving us reason to believe it is in fact acceptable to be lying on your back in a social establishment outside of the Power Exchange.