Salvador Duran

Forty Santa Barbara police officers and Sherriff’s deputies coordinated to arrest alleged drug dealer Salvador Duran this week after finding 1.4 pounds of heroin and $55,810 in his possession.

The officers served search warrants simultaneously at four different locations across Oxnard that they had identified as being associated with Duran’s operations, according to Lieutenant Ed Olsen from the Santa Barbara Police Department. As a result of the bust, Duran was charged by Ventura County for possession of heroin and sales of heroin. Olsen also noted how Duran was charged with child endangerment after children were found residing in his residence where a bulk of the drugs was found. “Everything that goes with the drug trade can be dangerous for children,” said Olsen. “Violence is typical in drug culture, so if you are going to be a drug runner, you are going to be charged with child endangerment.”

Furthermore, Duran was charged with committing a felony while on bail, as he had been released on $500,000 bail just a year and a half ago after being arrested for possession, sales, and transportation of 8.9 pounds of heroin. Back in 2015, Santa Barbara law enforcement had identified Duran as a direct nexus point for drugs being transported into Santa Barbara, which led them to find the drugs, four handguns, records indicating involvement with the heroin trade, and $96,000 in cash. Olsen expressed how 8.9 pounds of heroin is a considerable amount, given that the average user purchases about a gram at a time.

With the preliminary hearing for the first case having just begun on April 28, 2017, these new felony charges come at a significant time for Duran. His most recent arrest prompted a judge in Santa Barbara to revoke his initial bail and increase it to $1 million. The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office stated that because the new charges were filed against Duran in Ventura County, there will likely be no adjustments to the initial charges filed in the Santa Barbara case, unless a resolution is reached between the two jurisdictions.

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