Hollister
– The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office is receiving $330,000
in state grants to combat the county’s methamphetamine problem.
Hollister – The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office is receiving $330,000 in state grants to combat the county’s methamphetamine problem.
The sheriff’s office will add an extra deputy and fund an additional Hollister police officer to work in conjunction with the county’s United Narcotics Enforcement Team, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said. The sheriff’s office will begin receiving the grant money this month, he said.
Turturici called methamphetamine use in the county an epidemic.
“It’s easy to make, it’s cheap to make and it’s highly addictive,” Turturici said.
Hollister Police Officer Rosie Betanio said Hollister has problems with the drug.
“Normally if you have a meth addict and they don’t have a job, the option they have is to steal, burglarize or rob to sustain their habit,” Betanio said.
Lt. Edward Escamilla, San Benito County Jail commander, said a majority of inmates in the San Benito County Jail are incarcerated on meth-related crimes.
“They need to support their habit,” Escamilla said.
Of the 113 inmates in the San Benito County Jail on Tuesday, 58 were there on drug charges, Escamilla said. The drug of choice among inmates is meth, he said. Drug users often are connected with other crimes.
“A lot of those also have piggybacked theft crimes,” Escamilla said.
The California Office of Emergency Service will dole out $29 million in anti-meth funds to 40 counties this year – $19 million more than was available in 2005, state officials said.
In 2005, OES grant funding helped local law enforcement agencies rescue 152 children, arrest 955 suspects, confiscate 321 weapons, dismantle 46 meth labs and seize more than $6.9 million in drug money and assets, according to the agency’s director, Henry Renteria.
The California State Sheriff’s Association lobbied for the grants and determined need on a county-by-county basis. Some counties received substantially more funding.
San Joaquin County, where meth use has been linked to 141 deaths since January 2003, will receive $1.2 million. Sacramento County will receive $3.5 million, the most funding of any county, according to an OES press release.
Meth is manufactured everywhere, said Turturici, including San Benito County.
“We come across two to three labs a year, and it’s always in the rural areas,” Turturici said. “We have limited resources to go look for these people.”
State Sen. Jeff Denham’s office stated in February that “more than 30 percent of people in county drug treatment centers reported methamphetamine (meth) as their No. 1 drug, compared to 22 percent for alcohol and 16.5 percent for heroin.”
Denham’s office also stated that “more than 70 percent of all current child welfare service cases in Merced and San Benito counties are meth related.”
Turturici called meth “an ugly drug.” He said the effects of the drug can be devastating.
“I’ve seen people in the jail who have not gone to sleep for eight days” after arriving high on meth, Turturici said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
