Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives arrested 41-year-old Kenneth Rivas of Carpinteria during a traffic stop on Tuesday after a narcotics investigation identified him as a suspect and detectives were granted a search warrant. Rivas was driving near Calle Real and Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara when officers pulled him over and arrested him just before 2 p.m.
After the arrest, detectives visited Rivas’s home at the 1200 block of Vallecito Road in Carpinteria, and discovered 3.2 pounds of suspected fentanyl, 6.5 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, and one ounce of suspected cocaine, totalling almost 10 pounds of illicit substances. A handgun, ammunition, and $1,100 in cash were also seized from his residence.
The amount of fentanyl found in Rivas’s home is 14,528 potentially lethal doses worth of the drug, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office.
Rivas has been booked into Santa Barbara County Main Jail on felony drug and weapon charges including possession of narcotics for sale and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. His bail is currently set at $35,000.
