7 Arrested on Drug, Gun Charges in Santa Maria
Search of Wanted Suspect’s Home Unearths Methamphetamine, Rifle
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies got a bit more than they bargained for when serving a June 8 search warrant at a wanted person’s home in Santa Maria. Seven individuals were hit with a range of charges related to drug and gun possession.
When officers announced themselves, five residents fled from a home on the 1200 block of West Bethel Lane. All five people were arrested at the house, where the search turned up less than a gram of meth, as well as a pipe used to smoke meth.
Francisco Pacheco-Martinez, 24, was arrested on drug charges, as well as on two arrest warrants for violating probation on grand theft and speeding charges. Mark Pompa, 27, was arrested for violating his probation. Authorities are asking the District Attorney’s Office to file a complaint against the other three residents that would charge them with drug possession.
A search of a vehicle in a nearby parking lot also yielded a .22 caliber rifle, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia. Forty-six-year-old Gina Estrada was arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia and failing to appear in court on an existing drug-related warrant. Arturo Murillo, 21, was also arrested and charged with “being an addict in possession of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia,” according to a Sheriff’s Office press release.
