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Drug case puts 10 children in state custody
Meth - Police suspect a couple after finding a pound of drugs buried in their Canby backyard
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
AIMEE GREEN

Child-welfare workers have placed the 10 children of an Aurora couple into protective custody after Canby police reported finding a pound of methamphetamine buried in their backyard and cockroaches, dirty diapers and clothes covering the floors of their home.

Carlos Diaz-Hernandez, 36, appeared Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court to face charges of unlawful delivery of meth, child neglect and endangering the welfare of a minor. He is being held at the Marion County Jail on $190,000 bail and could be deported to Mexico because he immigrated to the United States illegally, Canby Detective Steve Floyd said.

Canby police sought warrants to search the property after collecting evidence that the couple were selling meth in Canby. As police arrested Diaz-Hernandez Friday, his girlfriend, Esmeralda Salinas, 37, went into labor with her 10th child. She gave birth to a healthy baby Saturday at Silverton Hospital.

Police did not arrest Salinas because taxpayers would have incurred the cost of her delivery, but are forwarding the case to the Marion County district attorney for possible charges, Floyd said.

Police had been investigating the couple for several months. Police saw Diaz-Hernandez walk outside with a shovel before making a sale, Floyd said.

Police borrowed a Portland police dog to find the buried drugs.

"We wouldn't have found it without him," said Floyd, noting the couple lived on 73 acres of former dairy farm in the 21500 block of Case Road.

Police also found an additional 4 ounces of meth, bringing the total street value of the drug seized to about $40,000. Police also recovered $20,000 in cash.

The couple do not appear to have been manufacturing or using the drugs, Floyd said. Police think Diaz-Hernandez is the father of seven of the children. All 10 of the children -- ranging in age from newborn to 17 years old -- are in good health, Floyd said. They were placed with a relative under state supervision.

Diaz-Hernandez was convicted in 1990 of possession and delivery of heroin in Marion County, and it appears he spent a few days in jail, Floyd said.

In an apparently unrelated case, Canby police on Friday arrested Salinas' cousin, Connie Alvarez, 51, at her Gervais home in the 6700 block of St. Louis Road. They found 4 ounces of marijuana hidden under a bed, Floyd said. As they entered the house, they also saw Alvarez pouring what police suspect was meth down the sink, Floyd said.

Police are also forwarding Alvarez' case to the district attorney's office for possible charges.

Floyd said the drug busts were sizable, but he doesn't think they will make much of a dent in the overall fight against meth because the drug is so pervasive.

"(The busts) might slow down the Canby traffic for at least a week, but there's always someone else selling dope," Floyd said.

Aimee Green:503-294-5915; aimeegreen@news.oregonian.com