“COPPS” Lead Cops to Drug Bust
Ventura County – The City of Thousand Oaks, usually a quiet upscale coastal valley community, was the scene of a substantial marijuana growing and processing operation which came to an abrupt halt on October 24th with the arrest of Jeffrey Ruthenbeck, 43, and David Staggs, 36.
David Staggs
Ventura County Sheriff’s Narcotics Detectives, working on details provided to them by the City of Thousand Oaks Police Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Unit (“COPPS”), served a search warrant on the residence of Ruthenbeck and discovered a 30-lb cache of processed marijuana, an assortment of methamphetamine, heroin, and Psilocybin mushrooms as well as an active marijuana “grow” on the same property.
Jeffrey Ruthenbeck
According to Ventura County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Jose Rivera, “Ruthenbeck was detained by deputies during the search process,” and, like the detectives going through his house, was alerted suddenly by the sound of the doorbell. Deputies opened the door to the house and greeted David Staggs on the porch. When asked to identify himself, Staggs provided false information, and it was soon determined that he was in possession of methamphetamine in an amount that led to the suspicion he was in the process of marketing the controlled substance and that Ruthenbeck was, in fact, a prospective wholesale buyer.
Staggs was ultimately identified accurately, and taken into custody on charges of providing false information to a peace officer and possession controlled substance for purposes of sale. Rivera reported to the media that “Ruthenbeck was arrested for cultivation of marijuana” and on multiple possession charges. Both suspects were booked into Ventura County Jail.
Photos: courtesy of Myspace.com
Read more:
KeyT: Ventura Sheriff’s Arrest 2 Men for Illegal Marijuana Possession
Local Nixle: Thousand Oaks Men Arrested for Narcotics Activity
ABC7: Thousand Oaks Search Warrant Yields 30 Pounds of Pot, 2 Arrests
