Authorities Received Several Complaints From Neighbors
LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office searched a house on Harper Street after they received numerous complaints from neighbors about the men at the house. When authorities searched the house they found a fully functional hash oil extraction lab on the property, and arrested the two occupants on several felony charges.
The hash oil lab found on site (SCSD)
On Friday, August 28, agents with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Officer Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted the search in response to the complaints. Agents, upon entering the house, found cases of Butane which is commonly used in the manufacturing of hash oil, also known as honey oil.
Agents discovered that the two men had a fully contained butane hash oil lab inside the house. They also discovered that they had numerous marijuana plants under cultivation. Both the marijuana and the hash oil were seized as evidence.
Agents also seized the equipment in the lab as evidence. The two men were arrested at the scene. They were 43-year-old Matthew Walter Sallee and 34-year-old James Alan Griffin, both of Santa Cruz.
The .38 caliber Smith & Wesson seized during the arrests (SCSD).
Sallee was arrested on a misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia, with bail set at $500.00. Griffin was arrested for manufacturing the hash oil and being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded hand gun. His bail has been set at $50,000.00. Agents seized the firearm, a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson, as evidence.
Both Sallee and Griffin were transported and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail.
