Santa Rosa PD moves to ban homeless and users from public square

SANTA ROSA Courthouse Square drug bust nabs 18
A sweep of Santa Rosa's Old Courthouse Square led to the arrest of 18 people connected to often-blatant drug dealing at the historic downtown hub, police said Friday.

The arrests followed a four-month investigation in which undercover officers bought marijuana and methamphetamine from the suspects, Santa Rosa Police Lt. Ed Hemphill said.

Police obtained 24 arrest warrants for people ranging in age from 18 to 48, Hemphill said.

"They were all street-level dealers who set up shop at Courthouse Square," Hemphill said.

The arrests came Thursday and Friday, he said.

Six adults and five minors remained at large, Hemphill said.

With convictions, police hoped to ban known drug dealers from returning to the square. Drug dealing has been a cyclical problem there for at least the past two decades, Hemphill said.

-Paul Payne