3 arrested after failed drug buy

Deepa Bharath

Police arrested two women and one man Wednesday after a possible drug

transaction went awry at an area home, with people going at each

other with baseball bats and one woman firing a handgun, police

officials said.

The bizarre episode began at a home in the 2100 block of Raleigh

Avenue at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, when 22-year-old Gary Inman Jr.

of Huntington Beach entered the residence with another man to buy

drugs, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said.

“As soon as they arrived, they became involved in a physical

altercation with several people in the house,” he said. “Inman Jr.

was struck with a baseball bat.”

About half an hour later, the man who went into the house with him

returned with three more men, all armed with baseball bats, including

Inman’s father, Gary Inman Sr., Birney said. Inman Jr. was still

inside the house, and the men’s mission seemed to be “to rescue him,”

he said.

Laura Shaffer, 40, one of the people in the house, fired a gun to

scare off the armed men, Birney said.

“And apparently it worked,” he said.

That was precisely the moment police arrived at the scene.

Officers saw men running helter-skelter in the area, Birney said.

Inman Jr. suffered minor injuries and was treated at Hoag

Hospital, he said.

Police arrested Shaffer on suspicion of possessing a stolen gun

and on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun.

Inman Sr. was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing

methamphetamine and on suspicion of being a convicted felon in

possession of ammunition. Police also arrested 45-year-old Diana

Koeck, another resident of the home, on suspicion of possessing drug

paraphernalia.

Inman Sr. is being held in Orange County jail without bail, and

Shaffer is also being held in county jail in lieu of a $10,000 bail.

Koeck was cited and released.

Birney said the incident caused a considerable stir in the

neighborhood and that neighbors told officers that the home in

question was notorious for drug activity.

“Occupants of the residence were pulled out at gunpoint to

stabilize the scene,” he said.

Birney said that after the arrests were made, the residents were

allowed back into the home. An investigation is continuing, he said.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].