A South Los Angeles man whom prosecutors believe was among the main suppliers of illegal drugs in the Alvarado Corridor near MacArthur Park pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge.
Jackson Tarfur, 29, entered a plea in Los Angeles federal court to a single count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 8.
A complaint filed in May states that Tarfur and his live-in girlfriend “serve as the, if not one of the main sources of supply of fentanyl powder and methamphetamine distributed in the Alvarado Corridor and MacArthur Park,” generally on behalf of one of the city’s largest street gangs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the defendants hand-delivered narcotics to the MacArthur Park area for stashing in storefronts and subsequent distribution to street-level drug dealers. They also used their Westmont residence in South Los Angeles as a stash location for illegal drugs prior to delivering them to the Alvarado Corridor, according to prosecutors.
MacArthur Park, located west of downtown Los Angeles, is an area of the city notorious for high rates of poverty, homelessness and gang activity. Many of the homeless in that area are drug users, and the park itself is a known location for drug users to purchase narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. It is surrounded by a densely populated, tightly packed area of apartments, offices, shops and other businesses.
Tarfur’s girlfriend, Mallaly Elvira Moreno-Lopez, 31, is charged with federal drug trafficking offenses and currently is scheduled to go to trial in December in downtown Los Angeles.