For years Santa Ana was carved up like a gerrymandered voting district by the local gangs, a veritable smorgasbord of testosterone fueled identities with names like the Lopers, Krazy Proud Criminals, Calle Flores, Latin Boys, F-Troop, Delhi Aces and the Tiny Rascal Gang.
The worst, or the best, depending on your point of view, was the Lopers. Founded in 1978 at Madison Park, which sits at the corner of Edinger and Standard Avenues in Santa Ana, the Lopers quickly established their territory with the boundaries of Edinger Avenue to the South, Minnie Street to the East, First Street to the North and Main Street to the West.
The Santa Ana gangs struck up a relatively peaceful coexistence, respecting each other's turf, except for the slight disagreement now and then which might lead to a beat down, knifing or a shooting, depending on the type of offense, perceived or real.
That was until the third wave of the opioid epidemic began in 2013, and the exploding market for drugs like fentanyl captured the attention of Vincente Eduardo 'Vinnie' Fuentes, the leader of the Lopers gang.
The first wave of opioid abuse began in 1991 when deaths involving these drugs increased as doctors prescribed opioids and opioid-combination medications for the treatment of pain. The sharp increase in opioid prescriptions reflected the reassurances by the pharmaceutical industry that the risk of addiction was very low.
By 1999, 86% of patients were using some type of opioid to treat non-cancer pain. Communities where opioids were available, and liberally prescribed, were the first places to experience increased opioid abuse and drug resale.
The second wave of the epidemic began in 2010. As early efforts to manage opioid prescribing took hold, making prescription opioids more difficult to get, users turned to heroin, a cheap, widely available, and potent, if illegal, opioid to self-medicate. Eighty percent of heroin users admitted to misusing prescription opioids before turning to heroin. Death due to heroin overdose increased by 286% from 2002 to 2013.
But the third wave was the sweet spot for the Lopers. Early adopters in the development and production of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, they perfected a cheap drug mixture that was 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
They hired scientists and set up multiple labs in secure locations throughout Santa Ana. The Lopers used their synthetic to cut heroin and cocaine, increasing both the potency, volume and profit margins of these drugs. They became the 'go to' provider and their influence increased with their sales. Like the fictional Borg, one by one they assimilated their rivals until there was only, for all intent and purpose, one gang. The Santa Ana Lopers.
Business was good, and only getting better, until 2015 when, in the heat of a re-election campaign, the then mayor, Miguel Turedo, decided to focus his attention on drug trafficking to drum up support among the voters. Unfortunately for Vinnie, this exposure happened as his top scientist, Hanes Winston, better known as 'The Pharmacist', developed 'Carfentanil', the most potent fentanyl analog at that time in the U.S., with a potency 10,000 times that of morphine.
Orange County police, aided by the state police and the FBI began to round up dealers, raiding and shutting down Lopers manufacturing facilities. They even captured The Pharmacist as he was working one evening in his lab.
Consistently though, one street dealer escaped detection.
It wasn't until after the election was over, and Turedo had been voted into office once again, that Vinnie Fuentes, leader of the Lopers, was told about the incredible luck of this lone street dealer. Suspecting him of being an informant, Vinnie called the dealer into his office and asked him how he had evaded the police.
"PoliceTracker" said Frankie.
"What do you mean police tracker?" asked Vinnie.
"It's an app Mr. Fuentes. It tells me where the cop cars are. All the time. It tracks their position."
"Here" he handed Vinnie his phone. "Take a look".
Vinnie looked at the screen with its constantly sweeping circle over a map of a five-block radius around the Lopers headquarters. Every once in a while, the phone would beep, and a red dot would either appear or disappear.
"That's a cop car" said Frankie, pointing to the red dot.
"How come I've never heard of this?" asked Vinnie.
'The apps off the market" replied Frankie. "They won't let you buy it no more. Cops got pissed and the government made them stop selling it."
"But I still have an original version, and the guy who wrote the code lives right here in Yorba Linda."
Vinnie's head snapped around.
"What did you say?" he demanded.
"The guy lives in Yorba Linda. His name is Cotton Spradley."
"What kind of name is Cotton Spradley?" considered Vinnie.
Frankie started to respond but Vinnie held up his hand.
"Rhetorical" he said.
Then he told Frankie to get the person's address. He'd like to pay this Cotton Spradley a visit.