8 May 30 - June 5, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents during the Great Depression, Mestas said. After WWII, it was designated as the Bataan Community Center. The area surrounding the center was home for many veterans re- turning from WWII, Mestas said. “So, it has a deep military and historical value,” he said. Mestas believes that restoring and revital- izing the community center has the potential to stimulate economic growth and tourism, and create opportunities for local businesses. Sylvia Lagos, board president of the La Ba- jada Neighborhood Community Association, also wrote to the Trinity Park Conservancy to voice her support for the city’s taking over the Bataan Community Center. “On behalf of La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association (LBNCA), along with community members across West Dal- las, we are in full support for the city of Dal- las to take over the responsibility of conservatorship for the Bataan Center lo- cated at 3232 Bataan Street, Dallas, Texas 75212,” Lagos’ letter said. Tony Moore, president and CEO of the Trinity Park Conservancy, was pretty tight lipped about the whole ordeal, saying only this on the record: “The Trinity Park Con- servancy is working with the community and their partners to seek ways we can assist with the transition of the Bataan Center.” The city did not respond to requests for comment about the Bataan Community Cen- ter. However, the Observer obtained a January letter from Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez expressing interest in the property. “Based on discussions several months ago that were expressed to the Trinity Park Conservancy, along with the recommenda- tions from the La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association, community mem- bers across West Dallas, and other stake- holders, the city of Dallas expressed its interest, and I wanted to make you aware of its interest in acquiring the Bataan Center located at 3232 Bataan Street, Dallas, Texas 75212,” the letter said. But, Narvaez added in the letter that it is nonbinding and the acquisition of the prop- erty will ultimately be decided by the Texas attorney general’s office. Mestas is hoping that preserving the cen- ter will be part of the city’s new historic and cultural preservation plan. “The city is say- ing that we want to preserve history. That’s a perfect model right there,” Mestas said, re- ferring to the center. “We’ve been ignored for years and years, and I think this is one way at least for the city to kind of make some sort of amends for what they’ve neglected.” ▼ DRUGS 20 YEARS FOR FENTANYL CARROLLTON FENTANYL DEALER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON. BY KELLY DEARMORE M ore than one year after his arrest, the first person charged in the Carroll- ton juvenile fentanyl scandal was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison last week. Luis Eduardo Navarette, 22, was charged in February 2023 and pleaded guilty in No- vember to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled sub- stance and distribution of a controlled sub- stance to a person under 21 years of age. According to a statement from Leigha Simonton, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, at least four juvenile deaths were attributed to Navarette. A press release stated that Navarrete and several co-conspirators trafficked fentanyl pills made to look like oxycodone to a net- work of juvenile drug dealers, who then sold the pills to students at R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School and Dan Long Middle School. Also, according to evi- dence presented at the hearing, Navarrete continued to sell illicit pills to students after he had been told they had caused overdoses. “Today’s sentencing of twenty years, I feel, is appropriate for the seriousness of Na- varrete’s crimes,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, DEA Dallas special agent in charge, in the press release. “Navarrete and others were responsible for causing enormous heartache and sorrow to many families. It is appropri- ate to show that the Carrollton Police De- partment and the [Department of Justice] remain serious about protecting our citi- zens, and especially our youth, from drug dealers who think they can prey on our chil- dren by pushing poison on them.” The press release also noted that the fen- tanyl Navarrete sold originated from the Sinaloa Ccartel in Mexico and that over the course of the investigation, officers and agents made roughly 40 adult and juvenile arrests and seized more than 1.2 million fen- tanyl pills off the street. Navarrete is one of 11 defendants charged in connection with the case that brought a great deal of scrutiny to the Carrollton- Farmers Branch ISD. Over the course of 2023, following the arrests, a number of high school and middle school students in the district were treated for possible opioid overdoses when they were found unrespon- sive on campus. Previously, Jason Xavier Villanueva, named as the “main source of supply” by au- thorities, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, and co-defendants Rafael Soliz Jr. and Robert Gaitan were sentenced to 15 and five years, respectively. In October 2023 Donovan Jude Andrews was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in selling fentanyl to kids in the Carrollton area. ▼ CANNABIS ALLEN VICE ALLEN POLICE PUT HEMP SHOPS ON NOTICE FOR SELLING ILLEGAL THC PRODUCTS. BY JACOB VAUGHN D on’t be surprised if some shops in Al- len are a little more timid about sell- ing you hemp-derived THC products. The Allen Police Department have notified vape and CBD shops in the city that investigations have found some of them are selling products with illegal levels of THC. “This letter shall serve as notice that the Allen Police Department has identified can- nabidiol (CBD) and vape establishments, similar to yours, within the city of Allen are selling illegal THC products, whether knowingly or unknowingly,” the letter said. “As such, APD would like to advise you of such actions and possible consequences necessary due to violations of state law re- garding the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance…” Allen police didn’t respond to a request for comment, but the letter said that through in- vestigations it has become clear that some of these shops are selling various THC products in violation of state law. “Products seized by APD being sold at establishments within the city have been laboratory tested for THC content,” the letter said. “Such tests have identified that, at least, the following prod- ucts have been sold with a THC content well above the limits prescribed in Chapter 443 [of the Texas Health and Safety Code].” The letter identified several products that supposedly tested over the legal limit for THC. These included loose leaf “hemp” flower, Exclusive Hemp Farms wax, Sugar THCa wax, Toast’d pre-rolls, Alien pre-rolls, Exclusive pre-rolls, Pure Luna Rocket pre- rolls and Puro Exoctics pre-rolls.“Please be aware that these products, and potentially more, failed to comply with requirements set forth regarding the production and regu- lation of hemp per Chapter 443,” the letter said. These products are classified as pen- alty group 2 controlled substances, accord- ing to the department. The murky waters of the hemp industry seem to get murkier by the day. Hemp was federally legalized in 2018 and in Texas the following year. State and federal hemp laws defined hemp as canna- bis with 0.3% delta-9 THC or less. Delta-9 is the chief psychoactive component in weed that gets users high. It is generally known as THC. There are different forms of THC that manufacturers and retailers have been sell- ing, such as delta-8, which is generally re- garded as less potent than delta-9, and THCa, which is the precursor to delta-9. THCa is one of the more controversial, but ever popular, products to hit the hemp market in recent years, and some still argue over its legality. THCa is not psychoactive on its own. But when heated, like in a joint, pipe, vape or bong, it converts into delta-9 THC, which will get you high. Manufacturers say they’re making THCa products with 0.3% delta-9 or less and that it exceeds that level only when heated. The problem is that most, if not all, law enforce- ment testing methods for these products use heat in the process, converting all of the sup- posedly legal THCa into illegal amounts of delta-9. Texas hemp business owners often find themselves in a legal haze, whether they’re selling THCa or not. The Garland hemp shop bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary, along with sev- eral others, was raided last year by local po- lice and a Drug Enforcement Administration task force. The shop owner and an employee of bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary were accused of distributing marijuana even though they claim they only sell hemp products. While some have gotten in trouble for other hemp products, local cannabis attor- ney Chelsie Spencer told the Observer ear- lier this year that she suspects the recent raids have to do with the proliferation of THCa products. “I have not read a single affidavit that did not involve THCa,” Spencer said. It’s uncertain whether all of the products Allen PD is warning about contain THCa. A quick search of the products shows that sev- eral of them do. However, scrolling through Exclusive Hemp Farms’ website, it doesn’t appear the company sells any THC prod- ucts. Instead, it appears to sell only products with substances such as CBD and CBG, which can’t get you high. The letter also said the sale of illegal products is not permitted under the city’s land development code or certificates of oc- cupancy issued by the city. “If your establishment is identified as sell- ing THC products in violation of Chapter 443 and the [Texas Controlled Substances Act], you are at risk of having your certificate of oc- cupancy revoked by the city,” the letter said. “Additionally, since such products are classi- fied as penalty group 2 substances due to THC content levels, you and your staff could face possible criminal penalties for the manu- facture or delivery of a controlled substance.” It added: “Continued disregard for the requirements set forth in Texas law and the Act, will result in the city and APD taking any and all action to remedy the illegal busi- ness activities. This includes, but is not lim- ited to, the filing of criminal charges and the pursuit to revoke the business’s certificate of occupancy.” Unfair park from p6 U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Fentanyl pills seized by authorities in a 2023 bust related to the Carrollton juvenile overdoses and deaths
