- Lake County News reports
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Santa Rosa residents found with 112 pounds of processed marijuana and weapon arrested
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Local authorities on Monday arrested two Santa Rosa residents, and seized 112 pounds of processed marijuana and a firearm following a vehicle stop near Hidden Valley Lake.
Horacio Sierra Campos and Sandra Rivera-Sierra, both age 25, were arrested, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At 4:30 p.m. Monday a patrol deputy was stopped near the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 175 in Middletown when he noticed a black Honda Ridgeline pickup travel past him, driving northbound on Highway 29, Brooks said.
The deputy observed several vehicle code violations and conducted an enforcement stop on Highway 29 near Putah Lane in Hidden Valley Lake, according to Brooks.
As the deputy approached the vehicle, he could smell the strong odor of marijuana emanating from it. Brooks said the deputy first contacted the vehicle's passenger, who was identified as Campos. When Campos rolled down his window to talk to the deputy, the odor of marijuana became much stronger. The deputy also contacted the driver of the vehicle, Rivera-Sierra.
As additional sheriff’s personnel arrived to assist, both Campos and Rivera-Sierra were asked to exit the vehicle, Brooks said.
He said a sheriff’s narcotics detection K9 unit arrived on scene. The deputy deployed his K9 partner to conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle. As the dog approached the front passenger door of the vehicle, she produced a positive alert, indicating there was the odor of a controlled substance present.
Deputies conducted a search of the vehicle and located a .380-caliber pistol on the floor board, underneath the floor mat where Campos was sitting, Brooks said. Next to the firearm were a magazine and six live .380-caliber cartridges.
During the search deputies also located 113 individual bags of processed marijuana. The bags of processed marijuana weighed a total of 112.8 pounds, Brooks said.
Brooks said Campos was arrested for the possession of marijuana for sales, sales of marijuana, armed while committing a drug offense and possession of a concealed firearm within a vehicle. Jail records also indicated he was being held without bail on an immigration hold.
Rivera-Sierra was arrested for possession of marijuana for sales and the sale of marijuana, with bail set at $20,000, according to jail records.
They were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
The two Santa Rosans are the latest suspects to be arrested on drug-related charges following a vehicle stop.
In recent weeks, sheriff's deputies pulling over vehicles for vehicle code violations have discovered large amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine.
Last week, a deputy arrested a Sonoma man found with a pound of methamphetamine, the largest bust of that drug this year, sheriff's officials reported.
On Sunday, a Reedley man who had been stopped in a U-Haul van near Clearlake Oaks was arrested after deputies found 256 pounds of processed marijuana in the vehicle, authorities said.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.