Sacto 9-1-1

The nation's drug czar on Thursday released study results showing that 78 percent of adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for at least one illegal drug.

Gil Kerlikowske (pictured with Vice President Joe Biden), director of National Drug Control Policy, during an address today at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., released the results of a 2012 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) report that collected data from inmates in five cities or counties.

In his address, he said more than half of adult males arrested for crimes, misdemeanors and felonies, tested positive for a least one drug.

The five cities or counties in the report were Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York and Sacramento. Positive results ranged from 62 percent in Atlanta to 86 percent in Chicago.

Four men, including two from Sacramento, were sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento for trafficking in the drug Ecstasy.

They were charged with conspiring to distribute MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, and possession with the intent to distribute MDMA, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Robert Ly, 29, of Sacramento to nine years in prison, and Darryl Smith, 31, also of Sacramento, to five years and 10 months in prison. David Chong, 38, of Alameda received a 10-year prison sentence, and Dassany "Daisy" Keohimanh, 30, of Stockton, was sentenced to eight years and one month.

A man parked in a space reserved for disabled drivers fell asleep in his vehicle, leading to attention from Sacramento police and his eventual arrest.

Officers noticed a vehicle parked at Elder Creek and Stockton Boulevard in a space reserved for the disabled about 11 a.m. Thursday. Police said no vehicle placard allowing use of such spaces was visible.

Inside the vehicle, Chris Murel Nesseth, 31, was seated in the driver's seat, sound asleep. A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a loaded handgun and narcotics, police activity log shows.

Nesseth was booked into Sacramento County jail on gun and drug charges.

A woman allegedly slapped a deputy to kick her cigarette habit this week in Sacramento.

Etta Mae Lopez, 31, (pictured) wanting to trash the ash and knowing that health is wealth, gave Sacramento Sheriff's Deputy Matt Campoy a slap across his face in order to get herself booked into the Sacramento County Jail, officials said.

Campoy was able to accommodate her unorthodox method for smoking cessation, booking her into the smoke-free county jail on suspicion of battery on a peace officer.

A routine traffic stop Friday evening in Auburn resulted in a foot chase and two arrests.

At 10:42 p.m. Auburn police officer Chris Forman initiated a traffic stop at the 13,000 block of Lincoln Way. While being searched, the driver identified as Lucas Ryan Strom, 33, of Auburn, began making furtive movements, pushed the officer away and fled, according to the Auburn Police Department.

Strom resisted arrest and was pepper sprayed while being taken into custody, the police said.

Officers found a sizable amount of heroin in Strom's possession. He was also wanted for burglary in Summit County, Utah. The passenger Sean Isaacks, 26, of Grass Valley, remained in the car during the attempted escape but was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine and a switchblade. A search of the vehicle also produced a digital scale.

Strom remains in custody and faces an array of charges, including possession with intent to distribute.

A member of the Skinhead criminal street gang today was convicted by a Sacramento County jury of manufacturing and transporting methamphetamine, and possessing methamphetamine for sale.

The jury also determined that 38-year-old Charles Gilbert Demar III committed the crimes for the benefit or in association with the Sacramento Skinheads street gang and that he had four prior convictions, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Demar was under surveillance by undercover Citrus Heights police officers in March 2011, following the shooting death of white supremacist David Austin Lynch at Lynch's Citrus Heights home. Demar was described by police at the time as a close friend of Lynch and a "person of interest," although he was not identified as a suspect in the Lynch homicide.

The second of two Yuba City brothers has been sentenced in federal court in Sacramento to 17.5 years in prison for methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking.

According to testimony presented at his six-day trial in March, Anthony Boykin, 36, and his brother, Patrick Boykin arranged and sold methamphetamine to several police informants in Yuba City between Sept. 13, 2006 and March 39, 2007, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Anthony Boykin was sentnced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb.

Patrick Boykin pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October 2009, also to 17.5 years in prison.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yuba-Sutter County NET-5 Drug Task Force.

Special weapons and tactics forces executed search and arrest warrants in South Lake Tahoe where a motorcycle club member was taken into custody on suspicion of committing several felonies.

South Lake Tahoe Police Department authorities used SWAT because they considered arresting Anthony Corbin a high-risk situation. Corbin, 46, is a member of the South Lake Tahoe Brotherhood Motorcycle Club.

He is suspected of beating a 34-year-old South Lake Tahoe man in mid-March. The victim was left with significant injuries, including broken bones.

Law enforcement is accepting for disposal potentially dangerous and unwanted prescription drugs on Saturday at four sites in Sacramento County.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency have set up four spots to bring the unwanted medicines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The locations: Sheriff's Garfield Station, 5510 Garfield Ave., Sheriff's Florin Station, 7000 65th Street, Rancho Cordova Police, 2897 Kilgore Road and Antelope High School, 7801 Titan Road.

Studies reveal that most of the prescription drugs that are abused come from family and friends, often out of the home medicine cabinet, according to a sheriff's press release.

Collection sites will accept any medicines in capsule and tablet form. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked, according to the sheriff's department.

A three-month investigation by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department has led to the arrest of a 51-year-old parolee from Placerville accused of selling heroin to undercover detectives.

The investigation began in January, when sheriff's patrol deputies received a report of a man threatening the life of another person. The man accused of making the threats was identified as parolee Ronnie Chambers (pictured), according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

While investigating the threat, undercover detectives discovered that Chambers wanted to sell cocaine, sheriff's officials said. During January, undercover detectives called Chambers and arranged to purchase $200 worth of cocaine from him. They arranged to meet Chambers in Placerville, where Chambers reportedly sold them a substance that appeared to be cocaine. The substance, however, was later determined to be crushed pills that contained morphine, sheriff's officials said.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I was wondering whatever happened to the men that were arrested in connection with the death of William Kempton's daughter?
Submitted by: Bill McCormick, Sacramento

ANSWER: Andres Arturo Tostado and Jacob Edwards were arrested in connection with the 2007 death of 21-year-old Summer Kempton, daughter of then state Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton.

A man had to go to the hospital as a precaution after police had some difficulty in bringing him under control.

Officers made a traffic stop of Anthony M. Mancuso, 37, near Acacia Avenue and Clay Street in the Hagginwood neighborhood of Sacramento about 4 p.m. Sunday. Once stopped, Mancuso ran from officers.

Police said at one point he tried to reach into his pants and was not complying with the commands of officers. An officer used a Taser to gain control of Mancuso.

The vehicle he had been driving was confirmed to be stolen, police said. Police said he was arrested on suspicion of possession of burglary tools, motor vehicle theft, heroin and hypodermic needle possession and resisting arrest.

Five people were arrested this morning after firearms and drugs were found at two Foothill Farms homes.

Members of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department's problem oriented policing detail were assisting the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's criminal apprehension personnel in the 4700 block of Greenholme Drive. During a search of two duplex units, at 4771 and 4773 Greenholme, three firearms were located, one of which was an assault rifle, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos. Deputies also found $35,000 in cash, as well as various amounts of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine.

A Carmichael man suspected of being connected with a major dogfighting operation in Mississippi was arrested Wednesday.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos said James Leiva, 60, was arrested after a search warrant was served at his home in the 6000 block of Holeton Road in Carmichael. Four dogs also were taken from the residence.

Leiva was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of possession of fighting dogs, possession of a controlled substances for sale and unlawful possession of ammunition by a person prohibited from possessing ammunition or firearms.

South Lake Tahoe police have arrested a motorcycle club member and his girlfriend on drug charges.

Police allege that Officer Travis Cabral saw Ryan Marino, a 29-year-old member of the local Brotherhood Motorcycle Club, buy methamphetamine on Monday in a parking lot near the "Y", the intersection of Highway 50 and Highway 89.

Police said the officer pulled over Marino's unregistered motorcycle in front of Marino's residence in the 1800 block of 10th Street. A frisking of Marino turned up hypodermic syringes, methamphetamine and a hunting knife, police allege.

During a search of Marino's residence, which he shares with girlfriend, Shaleen Pierson, 37, police said they found a sawed-off shotgun, ammunition, a flare gun and drug packaging paraphernalia.

Marino and Pierson were arrested on suspicion of maintaining a residence to sell controlled substances, as well as drug and weapons offenses, police said in a press release.

A Rocklin middle school teacher pleaded not guilty Monday to supplying marijuana to minors.

Ian Runciman, 38, an eighth-grade math teacher at Granite Oaks Middle School, was booked into Placer County Jail on March 1.

Police said Runciman allegedly kept in touch with some of his former students after they transitioned to local high schools and supplied marijuana to them.

The crimes are suspected to have occurred at Runciman's Rocklin apartment and involved three to four male juveniles aged 15 to 17.

Police said there is no indication that any of his suspected crimes occurred on a school campus.

An Auburn man is behind bars after allegedly failing to stop at a stop sign and then running away from police.

The incident occurred on Thursday around 11:30 p.m. when driver Keith Smith failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Lincoln Way and Cleveland Avenue, Auburn police said. The suspect reportedly led officers on a short chase toward Placer High School. Smith, 56, then drove his vehicle into a chain link fence, exited his car and ran away on foot, according to reports. Officer Chris Forman used a taser on Smith after he resisted arrest, police said.

Smith is being held in Placer County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. Authorities said he was driving on a suspended license and under the influence of methamphetamine.

Sacramento police said two weapons were recovered during a search of a vehicle in Land Park last night.

The incident also resulted in the arrest of two people after a long search of the neighborhood around 9 p.m.

It all began when an officer drove over to speak to a man and a woman standing outside a car at a gas station near Sutterville Road and South Land Park Drive. The man tried to reach into the car but the officer stopped him.

Police are looking for a suspect in an alleged drug theft from a Natomas pharmacy Saturday afternoon.

A man walked into the controlled area of the Raley's pharmacy at 4650 Natomas Blvd., about 3:15 p.m., according to Sacramento police reports. He didn't say a word, and removed four bottles of cough syrup containing codeine from a shelf. When the pharmacist attempted to stop the man, he shoved her out of the way.

The man then fled on foot, police said. He was described as a black man, aged 25 to 30, with a stocky build and acne scars. An investigation is in progress.

A suspected motorbike thief was wrestled, hit with a Taser and ultimately struck with a police baton during a violent arrest in South Sacramento on Sunday.

Lonetoga Maea, 32, was booked on suspicion of assault on a police officer, motor vehicle theft and a drug charge after his arrest Sunday night.

Officers were called to the area of Mack Road and Samos Way in the Parkway neighborhood about 6:45 p.m. Police were told that people were being loud and riding dirt bikes up and down the street.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the guy that was arrested for the killing of the leader of the white supremacist group?
Submitted by: Janice, Sacramento

ANSWER:No one has been charged in the March 2011 shooting death of white supremacist David Austin Lynch at his Citrus Heights home.

A 13-year-old student was arrested after he allegedly brought marijuana cookies to a West Sacramento school.

West Sacramento police said that the student at Southport Elementary, a K-8 school, on Tuesday brought about six marijuana cookies to campus on Tuesday. He then sold two of the cookies to another student who gave them to two other students, according to police Lt. Tod Sockman.

The two who received the cookies for free ate them and one of them got sick, police said.

A man is in custody on suspicion of assaulting a city parking enforcement officer and a police officer, authorities said.

The incident happened about 4 p.m. Friday at Meadowview Road and Freeport Boulevard, when Brian Debbs, 27, allegedly punched a parking officer in the face after the city employee told him to move off the roadway and out of traffic.

A Sacramento Police K9 officer arrived on scene and was also hit in the face, authorities said. With the help of the police dog, the attacker was apprehended, according to reports. Other police units arrived afterward.

Both the K9 officer and parking enforcement officers suffered minor injuries. Debbs was also treated at a local hospital, then booked into Sacramento County Jail. Police believe he was under the influence of drugs.

Debbs was arrested on suspicion of multiple assault charges on an officer, violation of probation and resisting arrest.

Sacramento police said a traffic stop turned into a narcotics bust last night on Highway 99.

Officers saw a vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 99 near Mack Road about 11 p.m. and began to pull it over for a possible traffic violation. As the vehicle was coming to a stop, somebody inside threw an item out the window, according to a police crime summary.

The object came to rest on the shoulder of the road. Police said they later recovered the object, which was identified as narcotics.

Gaspar Roberto Garcia, 38, was booked on suspicion of possession of narcotics and non-narcotics. Jason Anthony Breen, 35, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a dangerous drug.

Auburn police said that a traffic stop last night for an alleged vehicle equipment violation turned into a drug bust.

About 11:30 p.m. an officer pulled over Joseph Upchurch, 21, and developed probable cause to search his vehicle, according to an Auburn police press release. During the search, the illegal drug Ecstasy was found, in addition to edible marijuana and prescription narcotics for which Upchurch did not have a prescription, police said.

Upchurch was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances.

PHOTO CAPTION: Joseph Upchurch

A chase of an alleged probation violater in downtown Woodland ended in his arrest.

Police knew that Paul Shuler Jr., 29, of Woodland was wanted on suspicion of recently stealing a vehicle and a handgun. He was also wanted by the Yolo County Probation Department for violating post-release supervision.

When police tried to arrest him about 11:45 a.m. Thursday, police said he bolted, taking a handgun from around his waist as he fled on foot.

Fox40's Eric Rucker reports a person broke through a 2-inch window to steal cough syrup from a pharmacy on Hospital Drive in Sacramento.

Two pit bulls where killed during a probation search in Woodland when the dogs charged deputies, according to a sheriff's department press release.

A chaotic scene played out in the home on Antelope Street about 9:30 a.m. Monday after deputies arrived to conduct a search of the premises. Inside the home, were Vincent Van Asperson, 43, and Carole Vitalie, 46, according to deputies.

Three pit bulls were also in a bedroom that needed to be searched. A Yolo County Animal Control Officer was removing one dog when a second pit bull came running out of the bedroom.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has returned nine indictments charging 20 people with drug and arms trafficking by the Nuestra Familia prison gang and its affiliated Norteno gang members.

The indictments, returned on Thursday, are the product of a two-year collaborative investigation that focused on disrupting and dismantling a violent, gang-affiliated drug and weapons trafficking organization, according to Herbert M. Brown, special agent in charge of the Sacramento Division of the Federal Bureau of investigation.

The Nuestra Familia is described by authorities as a violent prison gang based in the California and federal prison systems, whose members exert control over street-level Norteno gang members engaged in drug trafficking and violent crime. During the course of the investigation, agents gathered evidence that many of the defendants were either members of the gangs or an associate of the Nuestra Familia, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

A man was booked on suspicion of stealing electricity and growing 750 marijuana plants inside a Natomas home.

Police were called to the home in the 2900 block of Myotis Drive about 6 p.m. Saturday on a report of a foul odor, which was apparently coming from the hundreds of plants inside the house.

The occupant of the home, a man in his 50s, who is not being identified due to an on-going investigation, was arrested on suspicion for stealing power to run the grow lights inside the home and for cultivation of marijuana for sale.

Four men from Sacramento County were booked into jail after Redding police stopped a rental truck with 300 pounds of vacuum-packed marijuana.

Police said they received information that a U-Haul pickup and a Nissan Altima would be coming through Redding with a large amount of marijuana. Around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, officers made separate stops on two vehicles matching the earlier descriptions of the pickup and the car.

A police dog alerted to marijuana in the pickup and officers found 300 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags. The other officer searched the Altima and found packaging material, vacuum-sealing equipment and a walkie-talkie identical to one found in the truck, according to a police press release.

An FBI task force roundup resulted in the arrest of 17 men today after an investigation into drug and firearms trafficking by suspected gang members.

The Sacramento Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force served arrest and search warrants after a nearly two-year investigation.

"Takedowns such as these demonstrate that the FBI and its task force partners are committed to disrupting violent gang activity," said Herbert M. Brown, special agent in charge of the Sacramento division.

An FBI press release stated that the task force of local, state and federal officers identified drug traffickers with membership or other ties with the Nuestra Familia prison gang.

The operation also seized drugs, cash and vehicles. Included in the seizures were about 12 cars, $35,000 in cash, 30 weapons, 25 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and Oxycontin.

Two people, including a man wanted for parole violation, were arrested Thursday night after leading law enforcement officers on a 34-mile pursuit through El Dorado and Amador counties.

The incident began about 9:30 p.m. when an El Dorado County sheriff's special enforcement detail attempted to stop a stolen motorcycle near the Quick Stop Market at 615 Pleasant Valley Road in Diamond Springs. The motorcycle was driven by Brandon Remy (left photo), 44, of Pollock Pines, who was accompanied by a passenger, Karen White (right photo), 24, of Placerville. Remy did not pull over and instead tried to evade deputies, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

Authorities said Remy was released from prison about five months ago, and deputies knew that a warrant had been issued for his arrest for a parole violation.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

The shirtless man tackled after interrupting the football game between Colfax and Placer high schools Friday night has been identified as Patrick Hurley.

The man who tacked him - applying the "Hit of the Year" - Troy Minton-Sander is an off duty Placer Sheriff's Department lieutenant. He is a former player for Placer High and is the he father of a current team member, Stone Sander.

"He was there off duty watching his son play football," explained Lt. Mark Reed, a spokesman for the Placer Sheriff's office.

Two inmates from a federal prison camp in Lassen County escaped sometime Thursday evening, said U.S. Marshal's deputies.

Marco Polo Aguilar-Martinez, 31, and Milton Antonio Borjas, 42, were last seen Thursday afternoon at the medium-security prison in Herlong, CA, said deputy Frank Newsom. During a night check, both men were missing. After a search of the premises, deputies determined the inmates were not at the camp, which is about 45 miles south of Susanville.

Both men were serving sentences for methamphetamine sales and illegal immigration. Newsom said both should be considered dangerous.

Anyone with information about the two escapees should contact U.S. Marshal's Service in Sacramento at 916-930-2030. Callers can remain anonymous, and a reward is possible for information leading to the capture of the fugitives.

PHOTO CAPTION: Marco Polo Aguilar-Martinez, 31, and Milton Antonio Borjas, 42. U.S. Marshal's Service

A Linda man was arrested after a Yuba County sheriff's deputy reported finding more than an ounce of methamphetamine in his vehicle.

A deputy was on patrol in the 3200 block of Erle Road about 2 a.m. Saturday when he stopped a vehicle driven by Larry Dorsey, 47, who is on parole, a Sheriff's Department news release shows.

During a search of Dorsey's vehicle deputies located more than 37 grams of methamphetamine packaged in several different baggies. They also seized a syringe and a small amount of heroin, officials said.

Dorsey was booked into the Yuba County Jail on suspicion of possessing controlled substances for sale and transporting controlled substances.

South Lake Tahoe police say that an explosion during drug-making burned a man.

Barek Madden, 23, was flown to UC Davis Medical Center with third-degree burns to his face, arms and upper body. His friend, Schuyler Van Fleet, was not injured, but the explosion singed the hair on his head, eyebrows and beard.

Van Fleet was arrested on suspicion of causing a fire and operating a drug lab. Madden may also face charges, police said.

Police said the explosion and resulting fire occurred about 3 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment complex at 3754 Forest Ave.

An Orangevale man was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento to 21 months in prison for conspiring to distribute hydrocodone.

According to court documents, Brandon Savaloja, 27, conspired with Raymond Reyes, 20, of Lincoln and others to distribute the drug in Placer, Sonoma, San Joaquin and Yuba counties. Hydrocodone is an opiate pain reliever found in such common medications as Vicodin, Norco and Lortab.

Savaloja was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Reyes was sentenced March 28 by Judge Mendez to four years and nine months in prison for conspiring to distribute hydrocodone and aggravated theft.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested a 22-year-old man today after he allegedly was seen walking in North Highlands with a gun in his hand, according to deputies.

Once in custody, the man - identified as Zachary Lane - struggled with a sheriff's deputy, who fell and received minor injuries, said sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos.

Deputies went to Harrison Street and Myrtle Avenue about 7:15 a.m. today after callers reported seeing a man walking with a gun. On scene, the deputies received more information that the man was seen running through yards, and another caller reported hearing a gunshot in the area, Ramos said.

As deputies set up a perimeter in the area, one found a handgun in a dumpster in the area where the suspect had been seen running, Ramos said.

About 7:45 a.m., deputies found a man matching the description that had been provided by witnesses and detailed him. That man was later identified as Lane, Ramos said.

As Lane was being escorted to a patrol car, he "struggled violently" with a deputy, who fell the ground. She suffered minor injuries and was not hospitalized, Ramos said.

Lane was arrested and booked on suspicion of negligently discharging a firearm, possessing methamphetamine for sale, possessing burglary tools, unlawfully possessing a firearm, and resisting arrest, Ramos said.

Jail booking records also indicate Lane is a known gang member.

State and federal agents busted a large marijuana and meth operation in southeastern Sacramento county on Thursday, officials said.

About 350 marijuana plants and about 10 pounds of crystal methamphetamine were discovered on the site near Bradshaw and Elder Creek roads. In addition, 11 suspects were arrested on drug charges.

The grow site was spotted from the air about two months ago. A search warrant was served about 7 a.m. Thursday said Michelle Gregory, a public information for the state Department of Justice.

Agents from the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team swooped in to find stables in a barn that were converted for processing of marijuana grown on site. Tarps hid the grow site from the road.

In other barns, holes had been dug to bury trash from a drug lab and to hide crystal methamphetamine.

Three weapons were confiscated. Three children at the property were turned over the Child Protective Services.

A Sacramento man has been sentenced in federal court in Sacramento to 20 years in prison for cocaine trafficking and money laundering.

Daryl M. Summerfield, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.

Between 2003 and March 2006, Summerfield had cocaine shipped in vans from California to Alaska, according to court documents. The vans were driven to Seattle, then shipped from Seattle to Alaska. When the cocaine arrived in Alaska, Summerfield flew to the state and oversaw its distribution through a network of drug distributors in Alaska, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What became of the two people arrested in Lincoln for possession of multiple firearms and hand grenades. One of them was a woman, the other a man. Have they gone to court yet? What was the outcome?
Submitted by: Jim, Boston

ANSWER: Eric William Smith and Jennifer Mulhern, both of Lincoln, were arrested in January 2011 following a drug and gang investigation by the Roseville Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit.

A Carmichael man suspected of selling drugs in Roseville and other communities throughout the region has been arrested by Roseville police.

Detectives from the department's vice and narcotics enforcement team arrested Michael Ramborger (pictured), 45, last week in the 2500 block of Marconi Avenue in Sacramento County's Arden Arcade area. During the arrest, detectives seized six ounces of methamphetamine and a quarter-ounce of heroin, according to a Police Department news release. Authorities said both drugs were packaged for sale. Also seized were a loaded handgun with its serial number removed and other illegal items.

Ramborger was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of drug an weapons offenses and is being held in Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $290,000.

He also is being held without bail on a "flash incarceration" on suspicion of violating the terms of his post release community supervision. Authorities said Ramborger is a state prison parolee classified under AB109 as a "nonviolent, non-serious, non-sex-offender." Post release community supervision offenders are supervised by county probation and local law enforcement officers, rather than state parole officers.

Two men were arrested after law enforcement officers found a cache of firearms and an estimated $2.5 million worth of marijuana plants in a Placer County home.

Detectives from the Sacramento County sheriff's special enforcement detail on Thursday served a search warrant at a home in the 10800 block of Browning Street in western Placer County. The operation was conducted with the Placer County Sheriff's Department and was based on information developed by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department suggesting that firearms were being sold from the residence, Sacramento County sheriff's officials said.

Deputies seized 118 guns, including a number of stolen firearms, from the home, along with 520 marijuana plants that were being illegally grown, according to a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department news release. Authorities said the street value of marijuana was approximately $2.5 million.

Citrus Heights police struck out Monday night when they went looking for a suspect in a home on Sawgrass Circle -- but ended up booking seven other people at the residence on suspicion of various charges.

Officers went to the 7900 block of Sawgrass Circle in search of a woman wanted on suspicion of committing property crimes in the area. She was not at the home.

However, seven other people in the house, on parole or probation, were arrested on charges, including possession of dangerous drugs, possession of burglary tools and parole violations.

The original wanted suspect was found in Orangevale where she was arrested.

Drunk driving checkpoints are planned in Citrus Heights and Davis during the long Labor Day weekend.

The Citrus Heights checkpoint begins tonight at 7 p.m. and continues to 3 a.m. Saturday at a still-undisclosed location. Officers at the checkpoint will also check to see if motorists have proper driver's licenses.

Officers from a variety of Yolo County jurisdictions will be conducting a drunk driving checkpoint in Davis from 7 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday. Exact location of the checkpoint has not been released.

Participating officers include Woodland police, Davis police, Winters police, Yolo County sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the rapper from Vallejo who was picked out of the line at Sac International Airport by TSA agents and found to have ecstasy pills taped to his inner leg?
Submitted by: Elan, Sacramento

ANSWER: Vallejo rapper Steven Noel Davison -- also known as "PSD," "PSD the Drivah" and "Stevie Dee" -- was arrested on federal drug charges July 14, 2008, after he was selected for a security screening as he tried to board a flight to Oklahoma at Sacramento International Airport.

Thousands of marijuana plants have been hauled out of Secret Ravine in Placer County.

A total of 16,721 plants were cut and airlifted out of the remote location northeast of Colfax on Wednesday by Placer County Sheriff's detectives.

The pot plot on private property and was spotted by helicopter surveillance. Before eradication of the plants, experts went in to make sure there were no booby traps.

A man fled when deputies arrived at the site, and a handgun was recovered at the garden.

A Sheriff's Department press release noted that marijuana grows are becoming prevalent in the county. If hikers in remote canyons stumble upon marijuana plants they are urged to leave immediately and contact law enforcement.

A man was booked into Sacramento County Jail after officers said he damaged equipment in a police car.

Sacramento police said Robert Strasser, 28, appeared to be flagging down passing cars in at 37th and Y streets about 4 p.m. Thursday. The area in Oak Park is known to have been the site of drug sales in the past, police said.

When officers approached Strasser, he began to walk away. Eventually, he was stopped and officers determined he was a parolee in possession of drug paraphernalia.

It was during a ride to jail that Strasser allegedly ripped out a camera cable in the back of the police car. He was booked into jail on suspicion of vandalism and violation of parole.

PHOTO CAPTION: Robert Strasser

A routine traffic stop of a driver in Placer County turned up 175 pounds of marijuana Tuesday night, sheriff's deputies said.

Thomas Franklin Williams, 51, of Calistoga was driving through Loomis about 10 p.m. when he was stopped on Interstate 80 near Horseshoe Bar Road for a vehicle code violation.

Williams was also found to be driving on a suspended license, according to a Placer County Sheriff's department press release.

A search of his truck by a police dog revealed that under the camper shell in the bed of the vehicle was seven large cardboard boxes filled with marijuana, according to authorities. Deputies said the marijuana was "processed and packaged."

Inside the cab of the truck was found a .44-caliber handgun with a 10-inch barrel.

Williams was arrested on suspicion of transportation, sales and possession of marijuana, carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony and carrying a loaded and concealed firearm in a vehicle.

His bail was set at $60,000.

PHOTO CAPTION: Thomas Franklin Williams

The veteran Sacramento County sheriff's deputy arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence is a 17-year veteran of the department, authorities said.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said that 41-year-old Chuck Lawrence Pfau will be put on paid administrative leave as a result of the arrest.

A California Highway Patrol officer arrested Pfau, of Folsom, on Sunday afternoon after he was involved in a collision with another vehicle, said Officer Jasper Begay, a CHP spokesman.

This evening is National Night Out, an annual event in which neighbors have some fun and send a serious message.

In neighborhoods across the country, there will be gatherings to mark the 29th annual National Night Out event.

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, boost neighborhood spirit and send a message to would-be criminals that neighbors are standing together to fight crime.

Former Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Kelly Smith will serve 120 days in jail and complete a drug diversion program as part of her sentence for drug possession and identity theft charges, according to authorities.

Smith, a 23-year veteran who had been assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department as part of that city's contract with the Sheriff's Department, resigned from the agency last month, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

In June, Smith, 43, pleaded no contest to the felony charges that she refilled an elderly man's hydrocodone prescriptions without his knowledge of consent and then kept the pills for her own use. She had befriended the man, prosecutors alleged, to get access to his prescriptions.

Smith has enrolled in a drug diversion program and will serve 120 days in jail, as well as five years of probation under the sentence imposed by Sacramento Superior court Judge Kevin McCormick.

Store owners have voluntarily taken a stimulant named "Spice" off their shelves after visits from Redding police.

Patrol officers have recently noticed people on Redding streets who are under the influence of "Spice." Symptoms include hallucination, vomiting, confusion and loss of consciousness.

To stem the use of the stimulant, officers went to 11 shops in Redding that specialize in smoking paraphernalia on July 11. They told shopkeepers that it is against the law to sell the synthetic stimulant known on the street as "Spice" or "K-2."

A Sacramento man has been sentenced in federal court in Juneau, Alaska, for his role in a drug conspiracy that authorities say involved deliveries of oxycodone from Sacramento to Juneau.

Marquis Thomas, 31, of Sacramento was sentenced Friday to five years of probation.

Also sentenced in the case were Juneau residents Brent Maki, Sally Jean Maki, Michael Travis Miller and Jason Rivera.

There was no question in Dept. 17 this morning of who killed Monica Anderson.

Instead, attorneys in the Sacramento Superior courtroom debated in their opening statements whether Lan Anh Le stabbed her 26-year-old lover in a premeditated, calculated attack on March 13, 2010 or in a fit of passion.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz warned jurors that they would see gruesome evidence during the trial, but argued that the case is a "straightforward" murder case.

A man who killed two people in a car crash in Folsom earlier this year while he was driving under the influence of nitrous oxide pleaded no contest today in Sacramento Superior Court.

Michael Dean Sharp, 22, is likely to be sentenced to nine years and eight months in state prison as a result of the plea he entered in front of Judge Geoffrey A. Goodman.

The judge scheduled Sharp's sentencing for Aug. 31.

A man wanted on warrants for domestic violence and narcotics offenses was arrested this afternoon after Citrus Heights police located him in the attic of an apartment complex.

Officers responded to the 7700 block of Greenback Lane regarding a report that a wanted suspect was in the area. The officers received information that 37-year-old Shem Ortiz was inside an apartment and had two outstanding warrants for his arrest, according to a Police Department news release.

Officers confirmed the Ortiz was in the attic of an apartment in the complex. After negotiations with officers, Ortiz came out of the attic and was taken into custody without incident, officials said.

Ortiz was arrested on a domestic violence warrant out of Sacramento County and a narcotics warrant out of Placer County. He was booked into Sacramento County Jail.

A resident of Canada was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento to nearly 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.

Kyle Deryk Legere, 27, of Surrey, British Columbia, received a 117-month sentence for conspiring to distribute MDMA, a popular club drug also known as ecstasy. U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez issued the sentence based on charges filed in the Eastern District of California in 2010, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court records, Legere organized and managed a drug and money transportation business. Officials described it as essentially a black-market operation styled after DHL or UPS that serviced several drug trafficking organizations in he United States and Canada.

Woodland police said they took a man into custody after a simple call about excessive noise turned potentially dangerous.

Officers were called to 91 California Street on Thursday about 8:30 p.m.. There, they found Carlos Cornejo, 32, working on his car in the driveway.

While speaking with Cornejo about the noise issue, Cornejo turned and "exhibited an imitation firearm, which resembled a chrome semi-auto pistol," according to a press release from Woodland police.

A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy has pleaded no contest to felony drug possession and identity theft charges after she befriended an elderly victim and refilled his prescription drugs without his knowledge, according to authorities.

Kelly Curran Smith, 43, entered the plea today as part of an agreement with the Sacramento County District Attorney's office that will send her to jail for 120 days and to a drug diversion program, according to a news release from the DA's office. She also will be placed on probation after she has served her time.

Smith and her attorney, Jeffrey M. Schaff, declined comment.

Smith is a 23-year veteran deputy assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department. Smith was placed on paid administrative leave when the investigation began in March, and she remains employed by the department, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Smith befriended a 90-year-old man and then began to refill his prescription painkillers without his knowledge. She then picked up the pills and kept them for her own use. She was arrested in May.

Smith will be sentenced Aug. 6.

A Folsom motel was partially evacuated early this morning and two people were arrested after they were allegedly found heating cocaine in a motel room.

Folsom police officers responded at 6:20 a.m. to a suspicious-person report at the Residence Inn, 2555 Iron Point Road. Officers there contacted 48-year-old Christopher Neal of Folsom.

Neal was behaving erratically, waving his arms wildly, and appeared to have difficulty speaking and staying awake, leading officers to believe that he was under the influence of a controlled substance or having medical problems, a police news release states.

Sacramento police have arrested a 33-year-old man on drug charges, but had to use a Taser to capture him, according to the department's daily activity reports.

Police say they first attempted to stop Deniz Lopez after he committed an unspecified traffic violation while riding a bicycle.

The suspect fled, discarding a backpack as he ran, and entered a blackberry thicket, near 73rd Street and 20th Avenue.

The Sutter County Sheriff's Office announced that a two-month investigation has led to the arrest of a 50-year-old man and seizure of an estimated $10,000 worth of methamphetamine and cocaine.

About 7 a.m. today, a joint narcotics task force known as NET 5, assisted by the Sutter County Sheriff's Office and Yuba City Police Department, served a search warrant at a residence in the 1900 block of First Avenue in the community of Sutter.

Authorities seized 13 ounces of methamphetamine, a gram of cocaine, seven marijuana plants, scales, baggies and MSM, which is used as a cutting agent for drugs, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. They also located an explosive device, which officials said appeared to be a quarter-stick of dynamite.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Federal authorities have confirmed that they have executed a search of a Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary today.

Phone calls to the location, El Camino Wellness, 2511 Connie Dr., were not being answered as of midday Monday.

Casey Rettig, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, said she could not talk about the situation other than to confirm the early morning execution of a search warrant.

Sacramento area law enforcement agencies report that arrests for driving under the influence during the Memorial Day weekend were up this year, but no deaths were attributed to drugged or drunken drivers.

From 12:01 a.m. Friday through midnight Monday, officers representing 17 county law enforcement agencies arrested 137 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a news release. In 2011, 74 DUI arrests occurred during the Memorial Day weekend. No deaths were reported during the four-day special enforcement period this year, compared with one alcohol-related death last year, officials said.

Special enforcement activities included a sobriety checkpoint and a DUI saturation patrol. Officers on routine patrol also focused on impaired drivers.

Redding police arrested 28 people in May as a result of investigation into three storage unit burgaries in Redding and Shasta Lake, police announced Friday.

The burglaries netted a large amount of property, including 28 firearms, many of which have not been recovered.

Police arrested Edward Harsh, 37, of Redding May 2 in connection with the April 9 theft of a gun safe with 27 weapons.

An ex-convict recently released from state prison was arrested Sunday after a dangerous flight from police, Woodland authorities said.

Police attempted to pull over Kevin Lee McClean, 26, of Woodland about 4:30 p.m. Sunday for not wearing a seatbelt, but he sped away, driving through stop signs and red lights at speeds that reached 70 mph, according to a police press release.

Eventually, McClean slowed to about 15 mph and jumped out of the Jeep Cherokee he was driving. A woman in the passenger seat also bailed.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint at Meadowview Road and Amherst Street in the Meadowview area Saturday night.

Beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing for five to seven hours, motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will check for drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. They also will check to make sure all drivers have a valid driver's license.

The checkpoint it intended to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, and to serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers.

Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sacramento County sheriff's authorities arrested one of their own this morning on suspicion of drug-related charges, department officials said today.

Kelly Smith, a 43-year-old deputy assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit, and unlawful use of personal identifying information of another, according to spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

All three charges are felonies, Ramos said. Smith posted $30,000 bail and was released.

The investigation into Smith's alleged criminal conduct began March 31, Ramos said. Smith was placed on administrative leave, and further investigation by the department's internal affairs detectives led to the charges that prompted Smith's arrest today, Ramos said.

Smith remains on administrative leave.

Detectives allege that Smith fraudulently refilled prescriptions for Vicadin that were intended for a 90-year-old man whom she had befriended, according to a request written by a sheriff's detective for an arrest warrant. The man's family alerted authorities after they realized that someone unknown to them had called in and picked up refill orders without their approval.

When confronted by detectives, Smith claimed she was "stockpiling" pills for her father, who was dying of cancer, the warrant request said. She also claimed that she did not have any "problems" with pain medications.

In a news conference this afternoon, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones formally introduced his new anti-gang "Impact Division," and announced preliminary results from the team's efforts.

Since the division began its work in January, gang detectives assigned to the division have seized more than 100 guns, some of which are pictured at left, and arrested nearly 125 suspects, Jones said.

In addition, deputies have seized 4.3 pounds of cocaine, 153 pounds of marijuana, 29 grams of heroin and almost a pound of methamphetamines, Jones said.

"Can I say we've beaten the gang problem? No," said Jones, flanked by commanders from partnering agencies. "We have a lot of work to do."

But Jones said he has high expectations for the division and believes it is off to a strong start.

"Hopefully it gives people optimism we are taking the youth violence problem seriously," Jones said.

Last fall, the Sheriff's Department was awarded a $11.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Office. The money was to fund a collaborative anti-gang approach that Jones said he began crafting after he took office in 2010.

The division is made up of 31 sheriff's employees and 10 officers from outside agencies. Those partnering with the Sheriff's Department are: Police departments from Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Galt; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Special Service Unit; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and homeland security.

Jones also announced a new tipline for information about gang-related activity. The tipline is also designed for youths who want help getting out of the gang life, Jones said. That number is (855) 2NO-GANG, or (855) 266-4264.

"It's never too late to turn around," Jones said.

To those who have no interest in changing their habits, Jones had a message: "We will find you, we will identify you, and we will arrest you."

The division has a three-pronged approach: gang suppression, intelligence and youth outreach. To read more about the Impact division, go here.

Photos show some of the guns seized by members of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Impact Division. Photo by Bee staff writer Kim Minugh.

A Sacramento man is headed to prison for his role in a multistate drug conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. today sentenced Son Nguyen, 41, in federal court in Sacramento to 15 years and 8 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine and MDMA, or Ecstasy.

Nguyen was one of 51 defendants charged in nine related indictments stemming from a 13-month federal investigation with connections to six states -- Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alaska, Georgia and California. Drug seizures occurred in California, Alaska, Illinois and Georgia, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Police have released new information about last week's massive manhunt that began in West Sacramento and ended with the fatal shooting of the suspect in Sacramento County.

Among the newly released details is the fact that authorities found out during the course of their search Friday that the suspect, later identified as 38-year-old Jimmy Lee Graves, had stolen a high-powered and "extremely dangerous" rifle from the machine shop where the manhunt began, said Sgt. Nathan Steele, spokesman for the West Sacramento Police Department.

The Remington Model 700 rifle is the same used by most police snipers, Steele said, and has a reach of more than 400 yards. It is a legal weapon often used for hunting.

A man suspected of climbing onto a neighbor's roof with a firearm on Monday, was re-booked Tuesday on suspicion of making meth, Lincoln police said.

Police said that Jason Michael Arnold, 27, lived with a 91-year-old relative in the 2100 block of Third Street. On Monday, police went to the home on a report that he was acting strange and was atop the neighbor's house with a loaded gun.

Police determined he was under the influence of methamphetamine. Officers also found a firearm in Arnold's home.

State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of several gang members and their associates in the Sacramento region.

The arrests, according to a state Department of Justice news release, highlight the Yolo Narcotic Enforcement Team's continuing efforts to combat gangs and narcotics trafficking in local communities. The team is made up of all law enforcement agencies in Yolo County and is led by the state Department of Justice.

The operation in West Sacramento was dubbed "Operation Red Sash" because of the Northern Riders and Broderick Boys criminal street gangs' affiliation with the color red and the Nortenos criminal gang, officials said.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

In a major drug trafficking investigation coordinated by Sacramento federal prosecutors, agents have arrested 25 people in three states, including several rappers from Vallejo, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced today.

The Vallejo rappers and others arrested are associated with "Thizz Entertainment," started in 1999 as a record label promoting and producing rap artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily from the Crest neighborhood of Vallejo.

Among those arrested were: Michael Lott, who performs under the name "Miami the Most"; Major Norton, known by the performance name of "Dubee"; Gaylord Franklin, also known as "Geezy"; and Bruce Thurmon, who performs under the name "Little Bruce."

"Thizz" is street slang for the drug MDMA, also known as "Ecstasy." In many songs recorded under the label, the lyrics glorify and promote the use and distribution of MDMA pills.

Criminal complaints on file in Sacramento federal court allege that some targets of the DEA-led investigation engaged in large-scale drug trafficking while releasing rap albums under the "Thizz Entertainment" label.

A 22-year-old Folsom man who allegedly was driving under the influence of nitrous oxide when he crossed into oncoming traffic in a collision that killed two men was ordered by a judge today to stand trial on two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Michael Dean Sharp's trial in the Jan. 7 deaths of the brothers Christopher Stephen Ohlander Martell, 37, and Robert Todd Ohlander, 32, was set for July 26 by Sacramento Superior Court judge Greta Curtis Fall.

According to testimony at today's preliminary hearing, Sharp had purchased 50 "whip-it" cannisters of nitrous oxide at a Folsom smoke shop, cracked one into a balloon and inhaled it while driving southbound on Folsom Boulevard.

A man was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of spray painting the face of one dog and exposing two other dogs to a household chemical.

Denis Vorobyov, 24, was arrested Monday on suspicion of threatening his father, maliciously maiming animals and possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

A sheriff's department spokesman said they received a call from Vorobyov's sister Monday afternoon. She told officials that her brother had poisoned the family dogs at a residence in the 6200 block of Claussen Way in North Highlands.

A Marysville man was arraigned today in Sacramento following his arrest on federal drug charges.

Bryce Wayne Nicholes, 23, was indicted by a federal grand jury April 5. He delayed entering a plea until Friday, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

The indictment alleges that on March 1, Nicholes possessed methamphetamine and crack cocaine, and intended to distribute them in Yuba County.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, the Yuba Sutter Narcotic Enforcement Team - Net 5 and the Yuba City Police Department.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

Two Florida residents pleaded guilty in Sacramento in a federal case initiated after Shasta County deputies raided a warehouse marijuana-growing operation in Anderson, the U.S. Attorney's office announced Friday.

Keith Andrew Baia, 42, pleaded guilty Friday to growing more than 100 plants, and Jody Weber Stewart, 41, pleaded to the same charge March 30.

They will be sentenced in June.

Deputies, who raided the warehouse on March 14, 2011, found 974 marijuana plants.

They also found handwritten notes on conducting a growing operation, which included notations about federal drug laws and prosecution.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

Six people were arrested at a west Davis home where police reported finding methamphetamine during a parole search.

Davis police officers on Tuesday searched a residence in the 1100 block of Halifax Avenue in the Stonegate neighborhood. Inside the house, they found more than 52 ounces of suspected methamphetamine and other evidence suggesting that drugs were being sold, according to a Police Department news release.

Arrested were Erica Marie Umbay, 37, Chad Stewart Umbay, 28, Michelle Witten, 31, Thomas Witten, 33, and Zachary Hicks, 26, all of Davis, and Matthew Ramirez, 25, of Woodland.

By Peter Hecht and Bill Lindelof
phecht@sacbee.com

OAKLAND -- Federal agents are conducting a search of Oakland's Oaksterdam University, a training school for the medical marijuana industry.

Agents from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration arrived with a search warrant this morning at the school, variously called the Princeton of Pot and the Harvard of Hemp.

Arlette Lee, an IRS spokeswoman, said the agents are at the school as part of an ongoing investigation.

Sacramento County sheriff's officials arrested five suspects and seized a cache of illegal firearms and marijuana plants during an operation in Wilton this morning.

Deputies assigned to the "Impact Division" - the agency's grant-funded gang unit - and the SWAT team served a search warrant at a home in the 9800 block of Clay Station Road about 7 a.m. today, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Inside the home, deputies found indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation operations, and evidence to suggest the marijuana was being sold, Ramos said. They also recovered a dozen guns, including a modified assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine.

According to Ramos, arrested were Dang Hang, 39; Lo Saechao, 36; Kou Vue, 32: Jimmie Mue, 29; and Yer Yang, 28. They face a variety of charges, including illegal possession of an assault weapon, tampering with identifying marks on a firearm, unlawful manufacturing of a high-capacity magazine and possession of marijuana for sale.

A Lincoln man has been sentenced in federal court for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance and for identity theft.

Raymond Reyes, 29, was given four years and nine months in prison by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez in Sacramento on Tuesday.

Reyes worked for a Sacramento cardiologist as a medical assistant. The doctor caught Reyes calling in fraudulent prescriptions for hydrocodone, an opiate prescribed for pain, according to court documents.

The doctor never prescribed the drug, according to a U.S. Attorney press release. The doctor fired Reyes in late 2008.

Reyes would call pharmacies using false names. He would either pick up the prescriptions himself or others would collect them and give the pills to Reyes for payment, said the press release.

A database shows that about 508 prescriptions for hydrocodone, about 97,000 pills, were distributed by about 89 pharmacies under the purported authority of the doctor for whom Reyes worked, according to the press release.

Reyes admitted in a plea agreement that he was responsible for the distribution of at least 40,000 pills, according to the press release.

Nick J. Sheedy, son of Sacramento Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy and former County Supervisor Ted Sheedy, was arrested downtown, jailed and released today.

Sheedy, 46, is suspected of possession of marijuana, cocaine and resisting arrest, according to Sacramento police officials.

He was arrested in the 1000 block of K Street at 3:15 a.m., police said.

A Citrus Heights man identified as a convicted felon is in jail after he allegedly broadsided a vehicle at a Rio Linda intersection while leading CHP officers on a chase Thursday afternoon.

About 2:40 p.m., a CHP officer attempted to make a vehicle stop on a green 2003 GMC Yukon at Q Street and 26th Street in Rio Linda. The driver of the Yukon failed to yield to the patrol vehicle's lights and siren, and instead continued at high speeds down Q Street to Rio Linda Boulevard, according to a CHP news release.

The Yukon then headed south on Rio Linda Boulevard, and as it approached Elkhorn Boulevard, the driver failed to stop for a red traffic light. The Yukon broadsided a silver 2006 Chrysler 300 that was westbound on Elkhorn.

A Sacramento man has been arrested on suspicion of trafficking in counterfeit drugs.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned a one-count indictment charging Zachary Meece Jones, 23, with trafficking in counterfeit goods. According to the indictment, Jones imported and distributed counterfeit brand-name pharmaceutical drugs. He allegedly imported the fake drugs from China and marketed them online in the Sacramento area. The pharmaceuticals included counterfeit Viagra, Cialis and Adderall.

Jones was arrested Monday and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan. He entered a not-guilty plea and was released on bond, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. His next court appearance is scheduled April 26 before U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

The case resulted from an undercover investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by the United States Postal Inspector, the Food and Drug Administration, and Customs and Border Protection.

Law enforcement's job was made easy when a Galt police officer received an unexpected text message from an unsuspecting source.

About 10 a.m. today, an officer was alerted by the sound of his cell phone. Thinking it might be a call from dispatch or a fellow officer, he stopped what he was doing and grabbed the phone.

It turned out that he had received a text message from a person who wanted to sell some drugs and mistakenly contacted the officer instead of the potential buyer, according to a Galt Police Department news release.

One of two inmates who escaped from honor farm custody in San Joaquin County has already assaulted a person, according to sheriff's officials.

A head count at 5 a.m. Sunday revealed that inmates Adam Michael Marchand and Joshua John Anderson had walked away from a county honor camp.

About three hours later in French Camp, Marchand is said to have assaulted a farmer watering his crops. Marchand then drove off in the farmer's 1992 blue Ford 350 pickup with the California license plate number 6N64960.

Four people have been arrested by federal agents for allegedly participating in drug trafficking and money laundering operations.

Herman Keese, 52, and his wife Deborah Barnes, 40, both of San Francisco, were arrested at their home and James Bradley, 51 was arrested at his Stockton home. Marcus Law, 40, of San Ramon was arrested at the Solano County Courthouse. All four were arraigned Wednesday in Sacramento and pleaded not guilty, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

On March 1, a grand jury charged the defendants in a sealed indictment with one count of conspiring to launder money. Keese, Bradley and Law also were charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute PCP and methamphetamine.

A police sweep of suspected gang members in Lodi ended with a pursuit and a crash.

The sweep on Wednesday consisted of police checking to see if suspected gang members were violating parole or probation.

About 30 searches resulted in five arrests, including one for possession of drug paraphernalia.

In the waning hours of the sweep Wednesday night, police tried to stop a vehicle in a known gang area, according to a press release. A short pursuit at high speeds ended when the fleeing vehicle hit a brick wall along Cherokee Lane near Century Boulevard.

As officers approached the vehicle, one of the occupants threw down what turned out to be a replica of a handgun. The three in the vehicle were taken to the hospital.

Police said the driver will be booked on evasion of a police officer. Police suspect alcohol might have had something to do with why the driver fled from officers. An investigation is on-going.

Redding police said they arrested a man who told officers he had used mushrooms and marijuana before he was found standing next to his burning car.

Jacoby C. Oates, 19, of Redding, was found on the third level of the Mercy Medical Center about 2 a.m. this morning. Nearby, was his fully engulfed Toyota Camry.

Oates, police said, made conflicting statements about what caused the fire to erupt. Police said an investigation revealed that he had been driving recklessly in the garage and hit some wires used as a barricade.

It is unclear how the fire started.

Officers suspected Oates was under the influence. Police said he told them he had a medical OK to smoke marijuana and that he had been smoking pot throughout the day.

A press release stated that he also admitted to have been using mushrooms.

Oates was booked into Shasta County Jail for suspicion of driving under the influence.

Two men pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sacramento to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

The pleas by Sergio Murillo-Valencia, 37, and Fabian Figueroa-Ayala, 29, both of Gilroy, follow earlier guilty pleas in the case by Sacramento residents Roberto Bermudez-Ornelas and Martin Solorio, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Charges are pending against five other defendants .

According to court documents, on Aug. 19, 2010, investigators searched a house in Gilroy where they found more than 610 pounds of crystal methamphetamine spread through nearly every room of the residence. Figueroa-Ayala was in one of the four bedrooms along with more than $300 in cash, ledgers detailing a significant number of methamphetamine transactions, two cell phones and more than 68 pounds of methamphetamine.

Three Woodland men were arrested on suspicion of growing marijuana and two of them were allegedly armed, including one who had an assault rifle, Woodland police said today.

Early Thursday, Woodland officers and members of the Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant at a home in the 1900 block of Hecke Drive, a police news release said.

All three suspects were booked into the Yolo County Jail.

Truckee police have arrested two men found in possession of a half-pound of cocaine and $10,000 in cash.

The arrests Tuesday were the product of a four-month investigation, according to a press release from the department.

The arrests came after police and Drug Enforcement agents executed warrants in downtown Truckee, finding the cocaine packaged for distribution in a residence where it was accessible to children.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted a Trinity County man on marijuana conspiracy and cultivation charges, months after a series of raids resulted in the seizure of more than 2,700 pot plants.

According to a criminal complaint, William Robert Barsanti, 26, who was indicted Thursday, bragged to local sheriff's deputies that he could beat any charges against him because he was protected under California's medical marijuana laws.

Trinity County authorities referred the case to federal prosecutors after 2,769 marijuana plants and five pounds of pot were seized in two raids in August and another in September on three properties owned by Barsanti, according to Sacramento U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Christopher DeFreece wrote in an affidavit that Barsanti, of Hayfork, told deputies who arrested him that he was a legal "caregiver" who was growing marijuana for 30 medical users in addition to supplying California dispensaries.

"Barsanti...stated that he would never be convicted of growing marijuana because six out ten people in Trinity County grow marijuana and that is who would be in the jury," DeFreece wrote. The DEA agent also wrote that "Barsanti continued to say that Trinitry County was a joke and he was going to beat the charges against him."

As a result of the federal indictment, he faces trial in Sacramento federal court.

Robert Davila

rdavila@sacbee.com
A parolee has been arrested in Redding after allegedly crashing his car into another vehicle and then fleeing with his toddler, who was riding with him, police said.

James Richard Atkinson Jr., 39, of Redding initially gave a false name when he was arrested Thursday, according to a written statement from the Redding Police Department. After learning his true identity, he was found to be on active state parole, officials said.

Officers also found his 2-year-old daughter in the vehicle with him, along with suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, the statement said. He was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse, parole violation and hit and run.

Police said officers heading to a report of a reckless driver around 11 a.m. Thursday received another call about a vehicle that was hit by a car that failed to stop near Park Marina Drive and South Street in Redding.

The hit-and-run victim followed but lost sight of the suspect vehicle, a 2001 Suzuki Esteem, near Lake Boulevard and Boulder Drive. Officers found the vehicle in an apartment parking lot, where the hit-and-run victim arrived and identified the driver as the suspect, police said.

Citrus Heights police arrested two people today in connection with the operation of an illegal marijuana dispensary.

The arrests of Steffany Vilas (pictured, left), 27, and Richard Garland (right), 55, followed a lengthy investigation involving unlawful sales of marijuana, according to a Citrus Heights Police Department news release.

Detectives served search warrants at the dispensary and two private residences in Granite Bay and Roseville early this morning. During the investigation, they discovered evidence that indicated Vilas and Garland were profiting from the criminal sale of marijuana, according to the news release.

Sacramento police are conducting a homicide investigation at a large apartment complex this morning near Folsom Boulevard and Howe Avenue .

The homicide occurred in the 100 block if Bicentennial Circle Monday night. Police said calls were received to dispatch about 7:08 p.m. from people who reported hearing a woman yelling that someone had been shot. Officers arrived and found a man in his 20s dead in a parking area at the apartment complex.

The victim's name has not been released

No suspects have been identified but police say that the shooter may have ties to the complex or actually live in one of the apartments. Police said it looks like the killing was the result of a drug deal gone bad.

A man alleged to be a validated gang member has been sentenced for selling crack cocaine in Sacramento.

Jeffrey Conner, 37, of Sacramento was sentenced in federal court to seven years and eight months in prison for distributing the drug in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood.

Court documents show that Conner is a validated member of the Oak Park Bloods street gang, a news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District states. The release notes that Conner has a prior conviction for assault with a firearm.

On Oct. 19, 2006, officers conducted a buy of seven ounces of crack cocaine from Conner in Oak Park, the release states. Conner charged $3,200 and later admitted to law enforcement that he made a little less than $1,000 on the drug deal, according to prosecutors.

A native of Mexico, deported 5 times before, has been convicted of two counts of illegal re-entry by a federal jury in Sacramento.

Roberto Solis-Cabralles has repeatedly illegally returned to this country, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office. He has felony convictions in Sacramento that include drug-trafficking and liquor store robbery.

Solis-Cabralles, convicted on Wednesday, is scheduled to be sentenced April 9 by U.S. District Judge William S. Shubb. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, however, his sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of sentencing guidelines.

A Sacramento man has been sentenced to 10.5 years in prison for money laundering and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wilbert Barber, 31, of Sacramento, received his sentence on Friday in federal Court in Fairbanks.

Prior to imposing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline said Fairbanks was tired of dealing with drug dealers such as Barber, according to a U.S. Attorney press release.

Proscuter Kelly Cavanaugh said that Barber was involved in a two-year conspiracy to distribute more than $130,000 worth of oxycodone pills beginning in 2008. Barber supplied the pills to his co-defendants in Fairbanks for distribution, according to the prosecutor.

The oxycodone, a prescription pain reliever, reached Fairbanks by private mail carrier or were carried by passengers on commercial airline flights.

Barber's co-defendants would deposit money in Barber's bank account or use wire transfers to send money to him, according to the press release.

Between them, two men are suspected of committing a wide variety of crimes on Sunday, Rocklin police said.

Included in the crimes the pair are suspected of committing: possible shoplifting, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and the theft of a classic car.

Police said the arrests began with a simple shoplifting call about 3 p.m. Sunday at the Kmart store, 5615 Pacific Street. The man suspected by store security had fled when officers arrived.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint Thursday night at El Camino Avenue and Erickson Street in North Sacramento.

Beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing for five to seven hours, motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will check for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They also will check to make sure all drivers have a valid driver's license.

The purpose of the checkpoint is to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, and to serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers, according to a Police Department news release.

The program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint in the area of Florin Road and Franklin Boulevard tonight.

From 8 p.m. today to 2 a.m. Sunday, motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers on the lookout for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a Police Department news release. Officers also will check to make sure all drivers have a valid drivers license.

The checkpoint is intended to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, and to serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers.

The program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Folsom Police Department will conduct a checkpoint tonight as part of an effort to keep impaired and unlicensed drivers off the road.

The checkpoint will begin at 7 p.m. on East Natoma Street at Briggs Ranch Drive and will continue into Saturday morning.

Uniformed police officers, community service officers and Citizens Assisting Public Safety volunteers will staff the checkpoint. Officers will be on the lookout for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as motorists without a valid drivers license.

The activity is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

A man heading to Dallas had his trip cut short when he was arrested on drug charges at Sacramento International Airport.

The Transportation Security Administration said TSA officers detected "an anomaly" during the use of an imaging equipment at Terminal B Sunday morning.

After the TSA said they had detected something on him, the passenger pulled from his pocket a glass pipe with drug residue, the TSA said in a press release. A pat down by law enforcement officers turned up two bags containing about three grams of white powder later identified as methamphetamine, according to the TSA.

A 32-year-old man was arrested Monday at Sacramento International Airport after he reportedly concealed bags of crystal methamphetamine in his underpants, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reports.

About 4:30 a.m., sheriff's deputies assigned to the airport responded to a security checkpoint in Terminal A. Transportation Security Administration personnel had detained Enrique Garcia after he refused to submit to a secondary screening while attempting to travel on an outbound flight, according to a department news release.

An investigation revealed that Garcia had concealed the crystal methamphetamine, which was detected during the screening process. Garcia was taken into custody and transported to the Sacramento County Main Jail.

He was booked on suspicion of unlawful possession of methamphetamine for sale and transportation of methamphetamine for sale, and is being held on $1 million bail.

Roseville investigators have arrested two men allegedly involved in a marijuana sale gone bad outside a Galleria Boulevard restaurant.

Narcotics police arrested brothers Sterling Mario Harlan, 33, of Roseville and Austin Tanner Harlan, 19, of Citrus Heights on suspicion of selling marijuana. During the arrest on Thursday, detectives confiscated about a pound of marijuana.

The Harlans are suspected of trying to sell marijuana in the parking lot of the Galleria Boulevard restaurant on July 5 to a group of men from the Bay Area. The buyers robbed the sellers at gunpoint and drove away, police said.

A Sacramento man was arrested by Placer County sheriff's deputies after he was found passed out in a car that was full of stolen property, illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Deputies were called to the Walgreen's parking lot on Douglas Boulevard in Granite Bay about 11:40 a.m. Thursday. When they arrived, they found Yevgeniy Gorlachev, 24, slumped over in the driver's seat with the engine running. He woke up when deputies asked him if he was OK, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

Officials said a search of the vehicle turned up heroin, a syringe, a glass pipe with methamphetamine inside, and marijuana and a pipe stashed in the fuse box.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the Sacramento region will join the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday.

During the event, agencies will offer convenient locations where people can drop off their expired, unused and unwanted pills free of charge, with no questions asked. By doing so, officials say, the public can help prevent drug abuse and theft.

Drop-off sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prescription drugs that languish in home medicine cabinets are susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, creating a public health crisis, according a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Nationwide, 2 1/2 times more people abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined, according to the recently released 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The study showed that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Friday in the area of 16th and C streets.

Between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. motorists traveling through the checkpoint will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will check for alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers. They also will check to make sure all drivers have a valid driver's license.

The checkpoint is intended to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers associated with drinking and driving, and serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers, according to a Police Department news release.

Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Five Sacramento-area men have been indicted in connection with a marijuana trafficking conspiracy.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento today returned a 23-count indictment charging Thomas Holzmann, 24, Peter Holzmann, 23, and Joseph Andrade, 24, all of West Sacramento, as well as Jonathan Sherman, 27, of Sacramento, and Eddy Arevalo, 29, of the El Dorado County community of Somerset, with conspiring to cultivate and distribute marijuana, and various other drug offenses.

Sherman also was charged with multiple counts of structuring and money laundering. Structuring occurs when large sums of currency are broken up and deposited in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid filing reports required by federal law, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

A package headed for the East Coast was intercepted at a Sacramento shipping business when employees smelled marijuana.

Officers responded Monday afternoon to the business in the 3100 block of Folsom Boulevard regarding a box to be shipped overnight to an address in Vermont. Police were called after an employee smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside the package, according to a police activity log.

The investigation of the package revealed that there was three-to-four pounds of marijuana inside. The box was booked as evidence and an investigation is ongoing.

A man alleged to be a validated gang member has pleaded guilty to selling crack cocaine.

Jeffrey Conner, 37, of Sacramento entered his plea Tuesday, a day before the scheduled start of his jury trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13.

Court documents said that Conner is a validated member of the Oak Park Bloods street gang, according to a press release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. The release notes that Conner has a prior conviction for assault with a firearm.

On Oct. 19, officers conducted a buy of seven ounces of crack cocaine from Conner in the Oak Park neighborhood, according to the release. Conner charged $3,200 and later admitted to law enforcement that he made a little less than $1,000 on the drug deal, according to prosecutors.

The Sacramento District Attorney's office said today that inmate Orlando Williams was convicted last week for possessing drugs at Folsom Prison.

Williams was convicted by a jury on Thursday. The district attorney's office said Williams had 22 tablets of the drug Ecstasy and 3 grams of heroin while an inmate at Folsom Prison.

Williams faces a sentence of 10 additional years in prison, according to the DA. Sentencing is set for Oct. 27.

Week 2 of the manslaughter trail against Michael Jackson's doctor begins today with an alumnus of UC Davis at centerstage.

One of two prosecutors who have presented the case against Dr. Conrad Murray is David Walgren, a graduate of the University of California, Davis King Hall School of Law.

Associated Press coverage: Michael Jackson manslaughter trial enters 2nd week

Photo gallery: Conrad Murray on trial in Michael Jackson death

Folsom police announced today that an approximately six-month investigation resulted in the arrest Thursday of three Sacramento residents believed to be connected with a majority of the heroin that has been coming into Folsom.

Search warrants were served at multiple locations and turned up and estimated $22,000 worth of drugs, police said.

Shamia Ingram (left photo), 31, and Jermaine Ellison (center photo), 40, were arrested after three-quarters of a pound of tar heroin was recovered at their home in the 7400 block of Winkley Way in Sacramento's Meadowview neighborhood, according to a Police Department news release. Marijuana and commonly abused prescription medications were also recovered, along with $5,600 in cash.

Liquor-related arrests were up, drug arrests were down and assaults pretty much held steady last year on UC Davis property compared to the previous year, according a press release from the university.

The annual statistics were prepared for the federal Clery Act.

"UC Davis is a relatively safe campus, but no community of our size is crime-free," said campus Police Chief Annette Spicuzza.

Comparisons between 2010 and 2009:

A 46-year-old Mexican national has been sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for his involvement in a marijuana and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in El Dorado and Placer counties.

U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on Monday sentenced Adrian Ortega-Diaz of Michoacan, Mexico, one of 12 people in a drug trafficking conspiracy that involved multiple firearms, and significant quantities of marijuana and methamphetamine, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Ortega-Diaz acted as a manager of a conspiracy to grow marijuana on public lands and to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine in Northern California. He and his co-conspirators were charged with running two marijuana grows, one in El Dorado County and one in Placer County, on public land, with each containing more than 1,600 plants. Investigators seized a number of firearms and more than 3,300 marijuana plants, plus several pounds of high-grade methamphetamine in Elk Grove and the Stanislaus County community of Denair.

By Denny Walsh


A man described by prosecutors as a major supplier of methamphetamine in the Sacramento area was sentenced Wednesday to 14 1/2 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute the drug and for money laundering.

Miguel Vasquez, 39, formerly of Cameron Park, was a primary target of a long-term investigation featuring court-authorized wiretaps of telephone conversations. He was "determined to be a major source of supply of methamphetamine in the Sacramento area and to persons shipping and selling significant quantities of methamphetamine to the Midwest and Hawaii," according to U. S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.

Vasquez forfeited to the government more than $700,000 in cash, funds from several bank accounts, two parcels of real property and two vehicles, all deemed to be part of or acquired with his ill-gotten gains.

Of the 19 defendants in the case, 16 were sentenced before Wednesday to prison terms ranging from 12 to three years. Two are awaiting sentencing.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

A veteran Postal Service employee pleaded guilty Tuesday in Sacramento federal court to pilfering prescription pain killers from the mail for more than a year.

Randall Paul Wessar of Wilton admitted that, between March 2010 and April, he plundered at least 30 packages containing hydrocodone (also known as Vicodin), a prescription narcotic, shipped by the Veterans Administration to patients in Sacramento.

In some instances, he acknowledged, he stole drugs from the same postal customer on multiple occasions.

Trial got under way today for a convicted child molester who was arrested less than three weeks after he was released from prison last year on a judge's order.

Robert Winston Precobb, 56, is charged with one count of annoying or molesting a minor and five more counts of furnishing marijuana to minors.

Precobb had spent more than 20 years in prison on a child molestation conviction before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras ordered him released in February 2010. Lueras ruled that a 2006 California Supreme Court decision invalidated Precobb's 15-to-life term. The judge then resentenced him to time he had already served.

Elk Grove residents can get all types of crime questions answered from a cop over a cup of coffee later this week.

Officers from the Elk Grove Police Department's Problem Oriented Policing Unit will answer questions during "Coffee with a Cop."

The POP officers will be at La Bou, 8694 Elk Grove Blvd., and Nugget Market, 7101 Elk Grove Blvd., from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday.

Police Chief Robert Lehner said the informal meetings over coffee develop strong relationships with the public. Specific or general questions about neighborhoods are welcome.

El Dorado County Sheriff's personnel seized $1.2 million worth of marijuana plants and processed marijuana during a raid of a residence in Cameron Park early Thursday, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

More than 1,500 plants and about 70 pounds of processed marijuana were recovered at the house in the 2900 block of Pasada Court, after authorities served a search warrant about 7:30 a.m., said sheriff's Lt. Bryan Golmitz.

Golmitz said eight or nine rooms in the downstairs level of the house had been converted into a growing area.

Folsom drivers on East Bidwell will be checked to see if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol Friday evening.

The police department will be staffing a checkpoint from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday on East Bidwell at Orchard Drive, which is between Glenn Drive and Blue Ravine Road. In addition to looking for impaired motorists, police will be citing unlicensed drivers.

Community Service Officers and Citizens Assisting Public Safety volunteers will help uniformed officers. Funding for the checkpoint comes from the state Office of Traffic Safety's Selective Traffic Enforcement Program.

Nevada County Sheriff's detectives found $18,000 and more than 5 pounds of marijuana in a car after surveillance in a Nevada City park, officials reported.

The Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force was watching activity in Callahan Park after taking complaints of drug activity.

After observing a drug transaction, they stopped a car and conducted a search of the vehicle, finding $18,000 in cash, the marijuana, an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, a meth pipe and a scale.

Officers arrested Charles Mason, 30, and Wendylyn Clemens, 24, both of Nevada County.

Two men with handguns held up a Redding marijuana collective Friday, taking an unspecified amount of marijuana and a laptop computer, Redding police reported.

The robbery at the Nothern Patients Group took place around 7:30 p.m.

A 21-year-old employee of the collective told police the men entered, forced an interior door and confronted him with guns - a long-barrel revolver and a semi-automatic handgun.

A Sacramento man today pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and MDMA, or Ecstasy, in a multistate drug conspiracy.

Son Nguyen, 41, was one of 51 defendants charged in nine related indictments stemming from a 13-month federal investigation with connections to six states: California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alaska and Georgia. Drug seizures occurred in California, Alaska, Illinois and Georgia, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, Nguyen worked closely with the leader of one of the four drug rings that federal and state investigators dismantled in August 2008. Nguyen's operation sold methamphetamine and MDMA in California and shipped methamphetamine to Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

State Department of Justice officials said agents took down a drug trafficking organization on Wednesday, arresting 10 people.

A four-month investigation led to the arrests. The alleged drug trafficking organization targeted by the DOJ's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement spread over six counties, including Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado.

Major marijuana grow sites were found in El Dorado, Shasta and Napa counties. Thousands of plants, several firearms and two pounds of crystal methamphetamine were seized.

Search warrants were issued, including seven for structures in Placer, Sacramento and Butte counties, a DOJ spokeswoman said.

UKIAH, Calif. -- Law enforcement officials say they've concluded a massive raid of illegal marijuana grows on public lands in the heart of Northern California's pot country, and it netted 132 arrests.

Read the full story here.

By Whitney Mountain
wmountain@sacbee.com

Auburn police arrested two Sacramento area men Saturday night for investigation of possessing marijuana for sale and of possessing hashish.

Stanislav Carpenco, 22, of Citrus Heights, and Ruslan Kochkin, 22, of Orangevale, were parked in front of an apartment complex on the 13000 block of Lincoln Way in Auburn when they were taken into custody, Sgt. Dave Lawicka of the Auburn Police Department said today.

Police said they responded to a call at 9:44 p.m. Saturday, encountered the men, and searched them and their vehicle. In addition to the marijuana and hashish, police reported finding several thousand dollars in cash.

Elk Grove police arrested nine people in Elk Grove, Sacramento and Plumas Lake on Thursday in connection with an alleged marijuana cultivation operation, the Elk Grove Police Department reported.

Detectives served search warrants at seven residences in the three cities, several of which contained indoor marijuana-growing operations, according to a police department news release. Authorities recovered more than 3,100 marijuana plants, ranging from young to fully mature plants, said Elk Grove police spokesman Officer Chris Trim.

Arrested were Dao Rong Feng, 45; Mei Huang, 87; Mary Phung La, 47; Tyson La, 23; Li Guang Lai, 37; Dat Ngoc Mai, 19; Hoang Ngoc Mai, 21; Sam Truong, 36; and Anh Thi Mai Vu, 40.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responding to a fairly routine call last week came home with a not-so-routine haul: three guns, a slew of ammo and some drugs, too.

Deputies responded to the 3100 block of Laurelhurst Drive in Rancho Cordova on July 26 after callers reported shots fired from a residence. Upon arriving, they saw a man in front of the residence, who quickly fled inside, according to a sheriff's report.

Deputies followed him inside and found quite the cache: A 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, three spent .22 casings; live .22 ammo; .38 ammo, 9 mm ammo, and .223 ammo. Outside, they found a .22 and a .38 revolver that had been thrown over a fence to an adjacent yard, the report states.

A Sacramento judge expressed anger and outrage today in a written statement he read from the bench in sentencing three men to a combined total of 2,492 years to life in prison with no chance of parole for a crime spree five years ago that culminated with a robbery-murder in Land Park.

"I don't think I have adequate words to describe the level of malevolence and depravity displayed by these defendants," Superior Court Judge Michael A. Savage said before he imposed the terms of Alex Brown Jr., Terry Larell Alexander and David Jacob Carrera.

The defendants "quite literally made war" in a week-long crime rampage, Savage said form the bench. The 21 counts they were convicted on included the Jan. 3, 2006, shooting death of James Ramirez, 18, in the doorway of his parents' home on Francis Court.

Auburn police say they arrested a Placer County man Thursday after receiving a report at 1:09 p.m. that the suspect was selling marijuana out of a five gallon bucket at the Auburn Dam Overlook.

Auburn police officer Stan Hamelin used the license plate of the vehicle associated with the suspect to locate David S. Robles, 21, of Auburn, at his home on Live Oak Lane in Placer County, according to a police department news release.

The department said Robles was wanted on a warrant for a D.U.I. offense. Hamelin found Ketamine, or the "Date Rape" drug, in Robles' possession, along with a .45 caliber handgun, a switchblade, and hashish, the news release said.

The officer followed a lead to a storage facility where he found more marijuana, the release said.

Robles is being held in Placer County Jail for possession of the gun, knife, narcotics and narcotics for sales.

A sex offender sought by Idaho law enforcement authorities has been arrested at a Meadowview residence, where guns and drugs also were found, according to a U.S. Marshal's Service news release.

In May 2010, officials said, Mack Phanmaha, 39, failed to register as a sex offender in Idaho. He previously had been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, according to the news release.

The Ada County Sheriff's Office in Idaho issued a probation warrant, and when Phanmaha fled his last known address in Boise, the U.S. Marshal's Service was asked to help locate and apprehend him.

Auburn police said the man being chased by police into downtown last night was eventually arrested.

Police said this morning that an Auburn Police Department officer recognized Neal John Bugnatto, 28, of Auburn about 10:45 p.m. on High Street near Cleveland Avenue. Police said that he was wanted and had an outstanding warrant.

During a short interview, police said that Bugnatto provided a false name and then ran away. A short chase ensued into downtown Auburn's central square area.

That's where police said they caught up with Bugnatto and arrested him. He was taken to Placer County Jail where police booked him on the outstanding warrant and suspicion of providing false information to a peace officer, resisting and possession of methamphetamine.

A Sacramento man has been convicted by a federal court jury of possessing oxycodone and marijuana with intent to distribute, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

Gabriel Johnson, 35, was convicted Friday, according to a department news release. The verdict was returned following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr.

According to testimony presented at the trial, Johnson possessed significant amounts of oxycodone and marijuana for sale at his apartment in midtown, the release states.

Three people were arrested early this morning after a home invasion robbery was reported at an Arden Arcade apartment.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responded at 4:20 a.m. to the robbery report at the Town and Country Garden Apartments in the 2900 block of Marconi Avenue. A man reported that his neighbor had been robbed at gunpoint in his apartment and that the suspects, a man and woman, had left the scene in a white Chevrolet. The victim was not injured, according to the Sheriff's Department news release.

At 4:41 p.m., a deputy spotted a white Chevy Tahoe, which matched the description of the suspects' vehicle, traveling south on Howe Avenue near Hurley Way. Deputies stopped the vehicle and detained two men and a woman. They were identified as Lori Voorhies (above, left), 44, Robert Wynne (above, center), 22, and Richard Kohls (above, right), 30.

Sacramento police arrested two people Tuesday after officers serving a search warrant confiscated drugs, guns and cash at a Florin-area residence.

Members of the department's problem-oriented police team served a search warrant at 7 a.m. in the 9200 block of Wenlock Court. Inside, officers found a variety of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, hash and an ounce of methamphetamine. They also located 28 guns, including two assault rifles and stolen property taken in recent burglaries, according to a Police Department news release. The team began its investigation after receiving tips from the community regarding criminal activity by the suspects, police said.

Bee Metro Staff

It was a busy weekend for Sacramento's downtown police officers. Starting Saturday afternoon and moving into the wee hours Sunday, the officers of Central Command responded to the following incidents. These items are taken from the police blotter.

1:30 p.m., 13th and J streets: Man out of prison for two hours found with crack cocaine

Officers stopped a man for aggressive panhandling. He was acting nervous and wearing prison release clothing. Michael Milligan, 48, kept trying to leave as officers spoke to him. Officers determined that Milligan had just been released from prison two hours earlier. A parole search was conducted and officers located crack cocaine and a narcotic smoking pipe on him.

10:16 p.m., 1900 block of Seventh Street: Intoxicated man stabs himself with butter knife

Officers checked out a report of a man who was intoxicated, off his meds and stabbed himself. Officers located the man on the north side of a park with a butter knife sticking out of his abdomen. They took him to the hospital.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A mentally disturbed woman who drowned her 3-year-old daughter two years ago was sentenced today to a possible life-time placement in Napa State Hospital.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller said that if doctors at the psychiatric facility ever find that Anul Malik Ram regains her sanity, the 34-year-old defendant will then be transferred to the state prison system to complete a 15-to-life term.

The dual sentences resulted from Ram's April 29 guilty plea to second-degree murder in the Nov. 15, 2009, drowning death of her daughter, Divya Ram, in the defendant's bathtub. Along with the guilty plea to the second-degree murder charge, Ram also claimed that she was not guilty by reason of insanity in the attempted murder of her then-7-year-old son.

At the time of the killing, Ram had been taking a variety of medications for schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and seizures.

The California Highway Patrol said a traffic stop on a speeding driver on Highway 50 turned up marijuana, hashish, cash and scales last night.

A CHP officer said he was driving the speed limit westbound on Highway 50 in West Sacramento about 9:30 p.m. when a vehicle came up from behind doing 85 mph. The officer made a traffic stop on the car and immediately got a whiff of what he believed was marijuana.

When the officer asked if the motorist had marijuana, he denied it. Not convinced, the officer searched the car.

According to a news release the officer found about two pounds of marijuana, 17 grams of hashish, $2,360 and a digital scale.

The officer then arrested the driver, Richard Michael Lombardi, 27, of San Pablo on suspicion of drug possession and possession of drugs for sale charges, according to the CHP.

Kilo, a black Labrador retriever with a nose trained to sniff out cocaine and crank, retired today.

The narcotics detection dog accepted a resolution honoring him with a back roll, left, on the rug in the chambers of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

"K-9 Kilo was a great asset to the probation department and an integral part of the gang and narcotic investigatory team," said Chief Probation Officer Don Meyer of the county's Probation Department..

Kilo began his career with Senior Deputy Probation Officer Tim Ruiz in the Crank Rock Impact project. In seven years, the pair was involved in 795 searches and 824 felony arrests. Kilo's keen sense of smell racked up some impressive confiscation numbers:

An Oak Park man has been sentenced in Sacramento to more than 24 years in federal prison for drug trafficking.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia today sentenced Edward Mallory, 45, to 24 years and four months in prison for his conviction on two counts of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and two counts of possessing crack cocaine for distribution, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Mallory pleaded guilty on Feb. 11.

Between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 18, 2005, Mallory supplied large quantities of crack cocaine to a drug trafficker in and around Sacramento, according to court documents. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration made controlled purchases of crack cocaine from the drug trafficker on six occasions.

Two Reno men have been arrested after allegedly carrying out a scam to steal items from Auburn's Home Depot.

Scott K. Nelson, 46, (bottom left) and C. Nicholas Psarras, 47, (bottom right) were booked into Placer County Jail on Sunday afternoon after loss prevention employees reported observing Nelson place his homemade UPC stickers over the store's UPC stickers on boxes in his cart. After ringing up his own purchases at the self-service register, Nelson exited the store and was confronted by employees, according to a Placer County Sheriff's Department news release.

Officials said he fought with the employees before being handcuffed and taken back to the store. It was determined that Nelson had paid $97 for items valued at $810, according to the news release.

Woodland police have arrested a suspect in the alleged drugging and attempted sexual assault of a homeless man.

Police reported detectives contacted a homeless Woodland man on April 8 who said he was given a beverage laced with something that rendered him unconscious. He was then taken to an "obscure" area in the 100 block of West Court Street where the victim told police he was possibly a victim of an attempted sexual assault.

After an investigation, police arrested another homeless Woodland man, 58-year-old Robert Talley, as a suspect. Talley was booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of torture, attempted forced sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment.

The Davis Police Department today released preliminary statistics showing that Picnic Day enforcement efforts resulted in 54 arrests and 207 citations Friday and Saturday.

Officers patrolling on foot, bicycle and in cars focused their attention on downtown Davis and neighborhoods that traditionally hold large house parties. The California highway Patrol and a countywide DUI enforcement team kept a lookout for drunken drivers, and California Alcohol Beverage Control agents were in town enforcing violations associated with alcohol consumption and sales, according to a Police Department news release.

Police officials in a written statement said they were not prepared to issue opinions on whether this year's Picnic Day was better or worse than last year, saying they would further analyze enforcement activities, and would seek comment from the community and other interested parties before offering conclusions.

The California Highway Patrol has arrested a man from Smartville who they say fell from a razor-wire topped fence when he tried to flee.

The CHP said they had been looking for Donald Harter Likens, 22, of Smartsville, Yuba County, for a number of vehicle thefts. He was also wanted for outstanding warrants in Yuba and Nevada counties.

An officer spotted him Saturday morning in Linda. After a short vehicle pursuit, Likens got out of his vehicle at a levee near Park Avenue. A foot chase began as other CHP and Yuba County Sheriff's deputies moved in.

A former Mexican attorney general from Baja California said today that legalization of marijuana in California would curb pot-related violence in Mexico but would do little to stop the overall killings and corruption of Mexican drug cartels.

Antonio Martinez, who served as attorney general for Northern Baja California from 2001 to 2007, told a McGeorge School of Law symposium on marijuana and legal issues, that sanctioning marijuana use in California would force cartel to increase other forms of drug trafficking.

"They still will be in the black market," Martinez said of Mexican drug networks. "And those individuals will shift into other sectors of organized crime. They will kidnap. They will steal ... They will go into cocaine, firearms and other things. For that merchandise (marijuana), violence will go down. But that doesn't mean it will stop."