CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A vehicle stop this week resulted in two arrests and the seizure of approximately 10.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Raven Inez Garcia, 33, of Clearlake and 35-year-old Thomas Joseph Peterson of Clearlake Oaks were arrested during the stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At 2:10 p.m. Sunday a patrol deputy was traveling southbound on Lake Street in Clearlake Oaks behind a vehicle that appeared to have an expired registration. Brooks said Central Dispatch conducted a records check of the vehicle and advised the registration had been expired since March.
The deputy conducted an enforcement stop of the vehicle in the area of Shoreview Drive and Lake Street. Brooks said the driver was identified as Garcia, with Peterson riding as her passenger. Peterson told the deputy that he was currently on parole.
Brooks said the deputy looked inside the vehicle and noticed a small plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance, sitting on the floor behind the passenger seat.
The deputy recognized the substance to be methamphetamine and detained Peterson without incident. During a pat search the deputy located $879 and a knife in Peterson’s pockets, Brooks said.
Garcia was instructed to exit the vehicle and a pat search was conducted on her as well. Inside one of her pockets the deputy located a digital scale, according to Brooks.
When the deputy mentioned that he could see a white residue on the scale, Garcia immediately told him that the scale was not hers. Brooks said she also denied ownership of the methamphetamine located behind the passenger seat.
The deputy asked if she had anything else in her possession and she admitted that she did. Garcia removed a plastic bag containing methamphetamine and a glass pipe she had hidden under her clothing, Brooks said.
Garcia initially said the items were on the vehicle floor and she got scared, so she picked them up and hid them under her clothing. Brooks said she later told the deputy that the items belonged to Peterson and he told her to hold the items for him.
Peterson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance, Brooks said.
Garcia was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, according to Brooks.
They were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
Bail for each was set at $35,000. Jail records indicated Garcia had been released on bail, but Peterson remained in custody early Tuesday.
Brooks said the methamphetamine later was weighed and determined to have a gross combined weight of 10.44 grams. The methamphetamine and glass pipe were seized as evidence. The $879 was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.