A February 15 raid by Santa Monica police officers has resulted in the arrest of three people and seizure of 21 handguns and 8 long guns/rifles, over 4000 rounds of ammunition, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Over $200,000 in cash was also found at the scene.
According to SMPD, the local narcotics unit and Santa Monica SWAT team executed search warrants for two homes, one in Lennox and another in Hawthorne, as the result of a drugs investigation.
“Due to the evidence recovered and information gathered, detectives arrested three subjects, two males and a female, for their involvement in narcotics distribution and criminal activity. The three subjects were booked at the Santa Monica Police Department Jail,” said a statement from SMPD.
Pedro Cesar Isais, a 28 year-old male from Los Angeles, was arrested for possession of heroin for the purpose of sales, possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of sales, possession of narcotics with a loaded firearm and child endangerment.
Valarie Marie Cruz, a 30 year-old female from Inglewood CA, was arrested for possession of heroin for the purpose of sales, possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of sales, possession of narcotics with a loaded firearm and child endangerment.
Alejandro Cruz, a 25 year-old male from Los Angeles was arrested for possession of heroin for the purpose of sales.
Lt. Saul Rodriguez said the narcotics unit is focused on distributors and their investigations often begin with a tip about local sales but expand into other jurisdictions.
“This is common with narcotics investigations,” he said. “We start with individuals selling narcotics in the City of Santa Monica and the cases take us elsewhere. (The narcotics unit) gathers information from multiple sources … but it all started with a sales investigation here and they may not be only distributing here but are distributing in all of Los Angeles County.”
Rodriguez said the case was entirely a result of Santa Monica investigations but other law enforcement agencies may be on site when an arrest occurs in other cities.
He said detectives will be presenting the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
Anyone with information related to narcotic activity in the City of Santa Monica is encouraged to call the anonymous Narcotics Tip Line at (310) 458-2292; or the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491.
