Erik Stirling
Goleta – Maybe it’s just the high price of real estate or a testament to the horribly addictive properties of heroin and methamphetamine, but based upon recent trends, an increasing number of Santa Barbara County homeowners are using their residences as either manufacturing facilities or as distribution centers for the production, packaging, and marketing of assorted controlled substances.
Shelby Stirling
Of course, when such activities take place in an otherwise quiet neighborhood, folks living nearby are likely to take notice.
Apparently that was the case on December 12th, when what Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover described as “a concerned citizen” placed a call to the SBSD’s anonymous “tip line” at (805) 681-4171 and expressed a suspicion that active and repeated drug dealing was taking place in a specific Goleta residence.
Ryan Erskin
SBSD detectives promptly established surveillance on the house in question and “observed a couple drive away and commit a traffic violation.”
Using the heinous crime of rolling through a stop sign as probable cause, deputies summarily conducted a traffic stop and made the acquaintance of the vehicle’s occupants, Erik and Shelby Stirling, both 34 years of age.
Trained in such things, detectives promptly determined that Mr. & Mrs. Stirling were “under the influence of a controlled substance” and in possession of a controlled substance. They were each transported to Santa Barbara County Jail for booking on those charges.
Gina Boeddeker
As Shelby Stirling was being processed into custody, she was found to have “secreted heroin inside her body,” leading to an additional charge for her of introducing a controlled substance into a jail.
While the Stirlings were settling in to their new accommodations, detectives maintained surveillance of their residence and just a while later spotted Goleta residents Ryan Erskin, 35, and Justin Anderson, 36, as they exited the home.
Contact with law enforcement ensued, and both men were quickly determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance, with Erskin found to be in possession of nearly eight grams of methamphetamine. Both of those gents were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail for booking, charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance; Erskin was additionally charged with possession of methamphetamine.
Apparently realizing that the Stirling residence was a veritable gold mine of potential drug arrests, detectives then served a search warrant on the house.
Justin Anderson
Once inside, the cops found ample evidence of controlled substances for sale as well as additional potential drug violators, including Goleta resident Gina Boeddeker, 42, Blue Herrick-Major, a 32-year-old from Santa Barbara, 30-year-old Montecito resident Karena Straight, and 30-year-old Santa Barbaran Mitchell Foutz, all of whom were arrested on charges ranging from possession of drug paraphernalia to possession of a controlled substance, along with various outstanding warrants on each of them.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
