Three people were arrested on charges of possession and sale of crystal methamphetamine in San Carlos on Wednesday, police captain Greg Rothaus said.
The three-month investigation began after the San Carlos bureau of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office received a number of complaints from neighbors of the house on the 1500 block of Greenwood regarding noise and excessive foot traffic to a house at early morning hours, said Police Chief Greg Rothaus.
“Drug arrests in San Carlos are not uncommon,” said Rothaus. “We make a lot of arrests for possession or sale. In terms of having a residence set up in a neighborhood where sales are going on, however, I can’t remember an incident like that. With the amount of havoc that home created for the neighbors, I can’t remember a home doing that in recent memory.”
Agents and police also took a 5-year-old from the residence, said Narcotics Task Force Commander Marc Alcantara. The child, whom Alcantara said was the grandson of the owner of the home, is currently with the county’s family services.
One of the women arrested also faced child endangerment charges. She is 25.
The owner of the home was not among the three arrested and Alcantara said she will not be arrested, but said “there was no way for her not to know” of the activities going on inside the house. He said “at least two arrested were related to the owner of the house.”
The San Carlos bureau provided background information to the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force, who began their own investigation.
The Narcotics task force monitored the house for months, and had undercover agents purchase methamphetamine. The purchase of the drugs was enough to garner the task force a search warrant. Alcantara said the street value of the meth taken from the house was $1,400.
“In our business it’s not always about the quantity,” said Alcantara. “In this instance it’s about quality of life issues, the drug-endangered child, and those affected by this house.”
The drugs were placed in a sealed evidence envelope and sent to forensic laboratory where they were weighed and analyzed, police said. They then were returned to the sheriff’s property officer.
Police said the house had two pit bulls inside, prompting task force agents to bring humane society officers with them to make sure the dogs were safely detained and moved to a shelter.
Rothaus said San Carlos bureau officers had made several arrests of people under the influence of narcotics coming from the house, most of whom had criminal drug backgrounds. He said the house has been on the radar of the San Carlos bureau police for a couple of years.
Alcantara said the house has been “yellow-tagged,” meaning no one is allowed to enter the house. The house will have to undergo significant repairs before it is deemed livable, he said.
The 25-year-old woman is being held on $160,000 bail. A 22-year-old woman is being held on $10,000 bail, and a 47-year-old man on $10,000 bail.
“Hopefully this will be the first step to getting this family into the social services system and getting them the help they need,” said Alcantara. “This is a family that needs tending to.”
