Adrian Alejandre, Dennis Cummings and Sergio Diaz
Santa Barbara – Drug enforcement initiatives involving interdiction of the flow of controlled substances throughout the county are commonly the purview of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Based upon the October 4th arrests of no fewer than five alleged criminal street gang members suspected of possessing, transporting, and marketing large quantities of drugs within the borders of the City of Santa Barbara, however, it’s apparent that The Santa Barbara Police Department isn’t shy about confronting organized crime on its own.
Sullivan-Seher
According to SBPD spokesman Sgt. Joshua Morton, following a several months long investigation into the activities of a local street gang, the local cops “working with agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives” served a quintet of search and arrest warrants upon five individuals residing in Santa Barbara and Lompoc.
Pursuant to the service of multiple search warrants, “cocaine, methamphetamine, and thousands of dollars in cash were seized” from locations throughout the city.
Those arrested include Santa Barbara residents Adrian Alejandre, 29, Sergio Diaz, 36, and Javier Zamudio, 32. Also arrested were Lompoc residents Dennis Cummings, 22, and Robert Sullivan-Seher, 48. The five were variously charged by a federal grand jury on myriad counts including distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy, sales of cocaine, and “participation in a criminal street gang.”
Zamudio
Morton noted that the inter-agency effort involving federal and local law enforcement personnel was the key to this enforcement endeavor, adding “these types of joint investigations continually aid in our efforts to protect the community we serve.”
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
