Yes, Juan. Crack Cocaine is a Big Problem in Downtown Brownsville. But, Don't Forget About Huffing, Homeless and Yes, Even Serial Killers!

Man, Wife and Dog, First Noticed at
City-Purchased Building in 2012

Juan Montoya of El Rrun Rrun blog recently published an expose' on the prevalence of "crackheads" in downtown Brownsville.  I have no personal experience with crack cocaine or its users, not even knowing exactly how it's ingested.  I've definitely witnessed, however, the homeless utilizing benches, store fronts and alleys downtown.  As for the couple I reported living under the awning at the entrance of La Casa del Nylon in 2012, after the building's purchase by the city, the man and his dog are still there with all their worldly goods, five years later.  The man's wife died a couple years ago.

Jeffrey Cutlip, Oregon Serial Killer, Sexual
Predator, Heroin, Crystal Meth Addict,
on Cover of Latin Jazz Festival Magazine

Perhaps Brownsville's most notorious homeless person was Jeffrey Cutlip, an Oregon serial killer and sexual predator who'd skipped parole, fleeing to the warm climate of Brownsville.

Cutlip, smooth-tongued, manipulative, smarter than most, dominated downtown in 2012.  Patrons shared drinks at the Crescent Moon.  Locals gave him clothing and food.  On colder days, Cutlip would scour the Valley Baptist Medical Center parking lot for a discarded, plastic wristband, then sit in a waiting room with his wrist visible to the occasional security guard.

So enamored was downtown Brownsville with Cutlip, who sported a hard rocker look, a guitar on his back, that he appeared on the cover of the Latin Jazz Festival Magazine, as pictured above.

In July 2012, after learning Cutlip had killed in Oregon, I called 911 to report a murderer at a bus stop on Central Blvd.  On my third call, the BPD dispatcher told me a detective had assured her Cutlip was "alright."  The next day, Cutlip turned himself into the BPD and was eventually extradited to Oregon

 Brownsville remains a haven for the homeless, locals and some traveling from afar.  A covered back entrance to an unoccupied building that fronts Elizabeth Street, is a shaded refuge for four residents smoking something Monday afternoon.

One of the squatters seems to have set up a more permanent sleeping situation for himself, while the others sit on chairs, smoking, existing, out of sight.

An artist, proud of her graffiti art, designated "The Eye," even posed for a picture. After I took several photos, she asked to see them, expressing some disappointment that her "belly button" was showing. 

So-called "huffers" also appear downtown.  An urban dictionary defines a "huffer" as "a person who inhales various chemical fumes for intoxicating effect."

Diego Lee Rot, photojournalist for the Brownsville Observer, noticing a huffer downtown, took the photos below.(Diego, contrary to blog policy, gave the at risk man monetary compensation for the photographs.)