Released: May 15, 2013 - Wednesday, 12:07 PM
Possession of a Controlled Substance for Sale, Transporting a Controlled Substance
Contact: Tony CipollaPhone: (805) 781 4547Date and time of incident: 5-13-13, Approximately 7:15 PMPlace of Occurrence: Highway 101 Northbound, Cuesta GradeVictim Information: N/ASuspect Information: Maria Guadalupe Garcia, 32, AnaheimOn 5-13-13, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Deputy Al Barger and his K9 "Jack" were traveling northbound on Highway 101 on the Cuesta Grade when Deputy Barger noticed a car in front of him make several abrupt lane changes. He ran a check on the license plate and discovered the registration on the car had expired. He proceeded to make a traffic stop on the car that contained a female driver and three children. The driver, 32-year-old Maria Guadalupe Garcia had a prior criminal history of transporting drugs. Deputy Barger asked Garcia if she had any drugs in the car and if he could search the car. Garcia consented to the search and had her three children leave the car. Deputy Barger had Jack sniff the car and the K9 indicated that drugs were present in the back seat area. Deputy Barger noticed the back seat was loose and so he removed it, exposing a metal plate above the gas tank that was missing a screw. Deputy Barger removed the metal plate and discovered plastic packages floating in the gas tank. He removed a total of 13 one-pound packages of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $228,000. Garcia was arrested and booked into County Jail for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transporting a controlled substance. Garcia was also charged with three counts of child endangerment. Garcia's bail is set at one million dollars. Her three children, ages 15,12 and 5 were turned over to Child Protective Services. 
