Hollister
– Three people were arrested Friday by the San Benito County
Sheriff’s Office on felony drug and weapons charges.
Hollister – Three people were arrested Friday by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office on felony drug and weapons charges.
Justin Alan Dix, 26, Anankha Dawn Pereira, 28, and Krystle Reina Lucatero, 20, were arrested at 3:38pm Friday after the car Dix was driving was stopped on Highway 25, according to San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies.
Dix was arrested on suspicion of possessing an open container while driving, a misdemeanor, felony possession of a stolen gun, and drug sales and possession, both felonies.
Pereira was arrested on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, and felony gun possession, according to deputies.
Lucatero was arrested on suspicion of possession and sales of drugs, both felonies, and felony gun possession, according to deputies.
The arrests resulted from a deputy identifying a suspect who was wanted on a San Benito County warrant for felony drug possession, Sheriff’s Det. Bryan Penney said.
“One of our off-duty deputies observed a female suspect, Lucatero, (traveling in a car) on Highway 25,” Penney said.
The off-duty deputy then lost track of the car, Penney said. Sheriff’s Dep-uty Jason Lei responded to Highway 25 south of Highway 156, spotted the car and pulled the suspects over, according to deputies.
Deputies ordered Luc-atero out of the car and placed her under arrest, Penney said. When questioned, Dix admitted to Lei that he was in possession of methamphetamine, according to deputies. Lei then searched and found 1.92 grams of methamphetamine in Dix’s jacket, according to deputies.
Upon searching the vehicle, deputies found a stolen loaded gun along with 53 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in a brown leather bag, Penney said. Deputies also found another gram of methamphetamine, an open beer can and a fake flashlight used to conceal drugs, he said.
When searching Pereira, Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Rodrigues found two glass methamphetamine smoking pipes, according to deputies.
The recovered .22 caliber gun had been reported stolen by a San Juan Bautista resident on Dec. 22, Penney said. The gun has been returned to the owner, he said.
Although deputies do not recover stolen guns as often as they would like, responsible gun ownership helps, Penney said.
“It is my recommendation that anyone who legally owns a gun to document the serial number, make and model of that gun,” Penney said.
Officials can then enter the information into a statewide database that tracks stolen guns, he said.
Dix, Pereira and Lucatero are being held at the San Benito County Jail in lieu of bail of $61,000, $42,000 and $95,000, respectively.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
