After catching a whiff of burning methamphetamine, San Benito
County Sheriff’s deputies searched a Hollister home and found
nearly a pound of the highly addictive stimulant, which led to the
arrest of a suspected drug dealer Saturday.
Hollister – After catching a whiff of burning methamphetamine, San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies searched a Hollister home and found nearly a pound of the highly addictive stimulant, which led to the arrest of a suspected drug dealer Saturday.
Deputies went to the home in the 9000 block of Fairview Road after getting a report that several people were staying there while the owner was out of the country. But when they knocked on the door of the home, they smelled smoke and burning chemicals thought to be methamphetamine, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said.
After calling officers from the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team for help and securing a warrant, deputies searched the house and found 360 grams of methamphetamine in a large plastic bag under some blankets on a bed, Turturici said. On the street, the drugs would be worth about $36,000, UNET Task Force Commander Mark Colla said.
Deputies arrested Rojelio Rios, 32, of 9231 Fairview Road for felony possession of methamphetamine for sale due to the large quantity of the drug, Turturici said. Rios was also arrested for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after deputies found a glass pipe commonly used for smoking methamphetamine is his pocket, Turturici said.
The owner of the home had been away in Mexico and Rios was at the residence without permission, Turturici said. Deputies are still looking into how Rios acquired the large quantity of methamphetamine, but didn’t find any evidence that he used the home to manufacture drugs, Turturici said.
UNET officers also confiscated $876 in cash from Rios’s wallet believed to be profits from illegal drug sales and a list of about 20 of his buyers, Colla said. Colla and his task force will use the list to try to make additional arrests.
“Rios is definitely at least a middleman with that amount (of methamphetamine),” Colla said. “We’ll try to trace it back to the individuals associated with him – his buyers and suppliers.”
Colla said it was too early to tell if Rios will cooperate and help law enforcement officials make additional busts.
Methamphetamine, a powerful and highly addictive stimulant, is all too common in San Benito County, Sheriff Curtis Hill said.
“It’s an epidemic, not only in California, but also in our county,” he said. “If we can pull a pound off the streets that’s a pound that a greedy drug dealer can’t profit from.”
Hill said methamphetamine addiction often spawns a host of petty crimes ranging from theft to credit card fraud and violence. Methamphetamine is also involved in 95 percent of local domestic violence calls, he said.
“It also creates a lot of other social ills,” Hill said. “Parents use it for days, it takes food off the table and diapers don’t get changed.”
Confiscating 360 grams of methamphetamine won’t solve the epidemic, but Hill said it makes a dent. Police usually find only one or two grams of methamphetamine at a time, so finding a large bag was notable, Hill said.
“It’s a significant amount,” he said. “But when you look at the big picture, it’s not all that much.”
Rios is being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, according to jail personnel. If convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale, Rios could face a maximum of four years in jail, according to the California Penal Code.
While the war on drugs continues to rage around the country, Hill was pleased the bust proves deputies in San Benito are staying alert and on top of their game.
“My guys are professionals,” he said. “They’re out there doing good work.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
