Parole search leads to meth bust

LOMPOC — Yesterday’s search of a garage on the 1000 block of West Chestnut Avenue culminated in two arrests and the seizure of suspected methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $185,000.

Lompoc residents Ruben Gaitan, 23, and Daniel Pereyra, 26, were arrested after a routine parole investigation yielded four pounds of the drug along with two loaded firearms. Sgt. Danny Rios reported that the garage, which Gaitan was renting from Pereyra, served only as a holding place. Where the drugs originated and how they got into Lompoc remains uncertain, but the investigation is ongoing.

Rios said that while the department has seen weights like this before, the opportunity to confiscate several pounds of drugs at once does not present itself very often. He attributed the day’s success to the proactive measures of the parole agents and patrol officers who made the arrests without informants, surveillance or other luxuries typical of a more in-depth investigation.

Gaitan and Pereyra were charged with methamphetamine possession with intent to sell, possession of a firearm with narcotics, and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony. Gaitain received an additional charge for violating his parole.

— Taylor Gutsche