http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/local/ci_4336434

Article Last Updated: 9/14/2006 08:41 AM

Runaway located, two men arrested

By BEN BROWN The Daily Journal
Ukiah Daily Journal

The search for a runaway girl from Ukiah led to two arrests on marijuana and immigration violations in Philo on Tuesday.

Mario Ayala, 22, and Gerardo Gonzalez, 28, both of Philo, were arrested on suspicion of cultivation and sale of marijuana and immigration violations at 7350 Highway 128 in Philo at 12:05 p.m. Tuesday.

Mendocino County sheriff's deputies were called to the residence on reports that a 16-year-old girl, who had run away from her parents, was staying there. Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said the house is believed to be a party and drug house that people sometimes seek out as a "safe haven."

Sheriff's deputies, accompanied by a representative from Mendocino County Child Protective Services, responded to the residence at which time sheriff's deputies noticed numerous marijuana plants growing on the property.

While deputies were investigating the house and its inhabitants a person approached the house to buy marijuana from the people who lived there.

With the assistance of the Major Crimes Task Force, deputies arrested Ayala and Gonzalez and booked them into the county jail on drug charges and on a federal hold for immigration violations.

The runaway girl was found on the property and arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, believed to be methamphetamine. The girl's name is being withheld because she is a minor.

Ben Brown can be reached at udjbb@pacific.net.