SLC police arrest 11 in major narcotics sting


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly a dozen suspects are off the streets Friday, thanks to help of the public.

The Salt Lake City Narcotics Unit arrested 11 people within a two-block radius over the past 48 hours. They are cracking down on reported suspicious activity because complaints have been increasing.

"Part of a factor for that reason is all the complaints we've been getting, not only from businesses, but people just passing by,” Salt Lake police detective Dennis McGowan said.

To help combat the disturbing trend, the department's doing irregular sting operations in the downtown area.

"They vary the times of the day, the days of the week and the locations throughout Salt Lake City and the intent there is to keep these people off balance,” McGowan said.

The sting operation was focused around Pioneer Park and went up to the Rio Grande building.

"This Pioneer Park is a public park, there are families, children here, that type of thing,” McGowan said. “And yet sure enough, everyday there are transactions that occur here."

The department says it is catching a handful of drug dealers on major charges. Some of arrests include 21-year-old Stephen Acosta, accused of distribution of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia, and 34-year-old Jose Acosta-Medina and 34-year-old Dain Wells, accused of distribution of a controlled substance.

Police say if anyone sees something suspicious to contact the Salt Lake City Police Department at 801-799-3000.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Haley Smith

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast