MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson today announced the arrest of 28-year-old Jesus Santiago Mendoza, following the execution of a search warrant carried out by agents with the Madera County Narcotic Enforcement Team (MADNET).
Shortly after dawn on Tuesday, Jan. 29, MADNET agents, with assistance from sheriff’s deputies and officers with Madera Police, served a warrant at a home located on Avenue 15 near Road 28 ½.
The suspect reportedly tried to flush some of contraband down the toilet before agents could make entry. In all, agents were able to seize $3,000 worth of methamphetamine, a loaded handgun and $800 in cash.
Agents received a tip that Mendoza may have been using this home to stash the narcotics, and then selling them on the streets of Madera.
Sheriff Anderson says numbers show that the amount of meth hitting our streets is on the rise.
In 2011, MADNET agents recovered over 7,000 grams (nearly 4 pounds) of methamphetamine. In 2012, they recovered almost 9,000 grams (roughly 5 pounds), though the street value of meth seized was higher in 2011 than it was in 2012, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
· $716,144 — 2011
· $516,481 – 2012
Sheriff Anderson says the price discrepancy is due to the fluctuation of supply.
“Bottom line, the amount of methamphetamine on our streets suggests supply is on the rise, because the demand for it continues to climb,” says Anderson.
Anderson says MADNET’s figures from the last two years alone do not include additional amounts of methamphetamine that have been seized by other law enforcement agencies such as the Sheriff’s Office, Madera and Chowchilla Police Departments, and the California Highway Patrol, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Madera County is steadily becoming a distribution point for the western United States, says Sheriff Anderson, and Madera County’s number one crime problem can be summed up in one word – drugs.
“We don’t have a [crime] problem in our county. We have a drug problem,” says Anderson.
Recently the sheriff credited Crime Stoppers for the number of leads on narcotics in Madera County. He adds that Mendoza’s s arrest is a prime example of Madera County citizens getting involved. “Today’s search was made possible by a tip to authorities,” he says.
Sheriff Anderson urges the public to stay vigilant in the collective effort to rid our streets of dangerous and deadly narcotics.
MADNET has a 24 hour tip line at 559-675-7776.
Meantime, the Sheriff’s Office has learned that Mendoza posted his $25,000 bond shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Jail records show he is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 11 at 8:30 a.m.
