The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Santa Maria man on Dec. 18 on suspicion of dealing and possessing methamphetamine, and possessing a stolen gun and stolen car.
The Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Bureau searched a house in the 700 block of West Harding Avenue, where they reportedly found 38-year-old Julio Cesar Aguilar-Lopez in possession of more than a kilogram of meth and other signs of drug trafficking, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The Special Investigations Bureau was assisted by the Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 unit and personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, according to the release.
The operation was part of a “long-term investigation” by the bureau, Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover told the Sun, which focuses on “specialized fields” of investigation like narcotics, organized crime, human trafficking, and technology-based crimes. The bureau also collaborates and supports other parts of the Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the county, Hoover explained.
“We’re always pleased when we’re able to get meth and firearms off the streets and out of the hands of criminals,” she said. “This person had not only meth for sale, but a firearm and a stolen vehicle.”
Aguilar-Lopez was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on Dec. 18, where he’s currently being held on $300,000 bail, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.