Narcotics Sting Leads to the Arrest of 4 Suspects

By Michelle Nelson, Noozhawk Managing Editor

Police say the men were distributing crystal meth in the Santa Maria area

A multijurisdictional narcotics investigation led to the arrest of four suspects Wednesday and the recovery of two pounds five ounces of crystal methamphetamine.

Police say the suspects were distributing large quantities of crystal methamphetamine in the Santa Maria area.

The investigation ended with two of the suspects — Alonso Ramirez Medina, 24, of Salinas, and Jesus Rodriguez Vega, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., an undocumented immigrant — delivering more than a pound of meth during a police-controlled buy operation in the parking lot in the 100 block of Niblick Road.

Police said that during the operation, Medina fled on foot and ran into a retail store, where he was captured by police. Vega was arrested at the scene of the operation, and found to be in possession of more methamphetamine.

The two other suspects — Arsenio Rodriguez Millan, 47, of Salinas, and Roberto Rodriguez Millan, 39, of Phoenix and an undocumented immigrant — were stopped on the Niblick Road Bridge by marked and unmarked police units and taken into custody without incident.

Detectives served search warrants related to the case at a motel in the 1100 block of Black Oak Drive in Paso Robles and in Salinas. The methamphetamine has a street value of more than $100,000.

All four suspects were booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of possession of methamphetamine for sales, transportation of dangerous drugs and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The investigation involved the Santa Barbara Regional Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Santa Maria Police Department Narcotics Suppression Team and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department’s Narcotics Unit.

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