Hollister
– One of San Benito County’s Most Wanted was arrested Tuesday
morning at the Wiebe Motel for drug sales and possession of a
loaded gun after authorities received an anonymous tip.
Hollister – One of San Benito County’s Most Wanted was arrested Tuesday morning at the Wiebe Motel for drug sales and possession of a loaded gun after authorities received an anonymous tip.
Christina Ann Espinoza, 26, was arrested by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of several felony drug and weapons charges at the motel on San Felipe Road at 10am, deputies said.
Sheriff’s detectives drove to the motel to arrest Espinoza on a felony warrant after an anonymous source informed them of her whereabouts, Sgt. Tom Keylon said. At the motel, deputies found more than a quarter-ounce of methamphetamine and a loaded semi-automatic pistol, he said.
Keylon said deputies were not surprised to receive the tip.
“If they’ve been in the Most Wanted, we get a lot of phone calls or people coming up to us on the street,” Keylon said.
Espinoza appeared in the Free Lance’s Feb. 9 edition of San Benito County’s Most Wanted.
Detectives knocked on Espinoza’s motel room door for about five minutes before she answered, Keylon said.
Since Espinoza is on probation, detectives were able to search the motel room once she answered the door, he said.
Upon entering the room, Det. Bryan Penney looked out of the bathroom window and saw a digital scale on the ground, Keylon said. Detectives searched outside behind the room and found a loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol and 8.5 grams of methamphetamine in a plastic bag, Keylon said.
The scale coupled with the methamphetamine indicates drug sales, Keylon said.
“It’s more than for personal use,” he said.
Deputies arrested Espinoza on suspicion of felony drug sales and being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm.
She was alone at the time of her arrest, Keylon said.
Espinoza is being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of $44,000 in bail. She told jail personnel she is a babysitter.
If convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale, Espinoza could face up to four years in state prison, according to the California Penal Code.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
