Month-long Pot Probe Results in Three Arrests

Three South Coast men are facing drug-related charges following the July 1 conclusion of a month-long investigation into illegal marijuana cultivators and traffickers by narcotics detectives with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. Warrants were served at three homes: one on the 2100 block of East Valley Road in Montecito, one on the 100 block of Valencia Road in Summerland, and one on the 100 block of Verona Avenue in Goleta.

Upon searching the homes, three men were arrested for drug-related charges. Summerland resident Mischa Ford was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of conspiracy, marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana for sales, possession of cocaine, possession of ecstasy, and transportation of marijuana. The other two men were cited and released: Donald Bullick is facing charges of conspiracy, marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana for sales, and possession of Psilocybin, and Michael Shapiro is facing charges of conspiracy, marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana for sales, and transportation of marijuana.

According to a report from the Sheriff’s Department, searches of the three homes yielded over 400 active marijuana plants, “sophisticated” outdoor and indoor marijuana gardens, five pounds of processed marijuana (with an estimated street value of $20,000), four grams of cocaine (with an estimated street value of $400), a “usable” amount of Psilocybin, several ecstasy pills, and approximately $18,000 in cash. Over the entire scope of the investigation $800,000 worth of marijuana was seized.

In a press release about the arrests, Sheriff’s spokesman Drew Sugars noted that evidence located at the residence showed that suspects seem to be illegally cultivating and selling the drugs outside the scope of California’s medical marijuana law. He also noted that Ford allegedly had sold marijuana in the presence of an undercover officer and that Ford and Shapiro were shipping pounds of the processed marijuana to the East Coast.