Mike's Market workers let people with EBT cards get cash, then sold them drugs: DA

The criminal case surrounding a Mountain View grocery store that law enforcement officials said became a local gang’s base of operations for narcotics sales has led to criminal convictions and sentences for 22 people, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

Police and prosecutors said employees at Mike’s Market on Ocean View Boulevard were working directly with gang members to facilitate drug sales, which were funded through more than $2 million in food assistance benefit fraud taking place at the store.

Store employees allowed customers to unlawfully use their EBT cards to receive cash, then use the cash to buy drugs, prosecutors said.

“This prosecution demonstrates how law enforcement strategically identifies and effectively responds to public safety threats and holds organized gangs accountable for large-scale fraud, and illegal drug and gun trafficking,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. “As a result, peace of mind has been restored in this neighborhood, and the community is significantly safer. It was heartbreaking to hear the voices of the great families in this San Diego neighborhood who were terrorized by crime and violence.”

Prosecutors attribute the market’s transformation into a drug hub to a spike in criminal activity in the surrounding area, including a rise in murders, assaults and robberies in the two years prior to the criminal investigation into the store.

The ensuing joint SDPD and FBI investigation, dubbed Operation Mic Drop, resulted in a 221-count grand jury indictment returned in 2022. The district attorney’s office said that in the three years since, there have been no homicides or robberies in the area, as well as a 75% decrease annually in calls for service and a 50% decrease in arrests.

The case resulted in convictions for drug, gun and fraud offenses, and sentences ranging from 15 years in prison to probation. The final defendant in the case was sentenced last month, the D.A.’s Office said.