VENTURA : 4 Plead Not Guilty to Cocaine Charges

A Ventura hotelier and three Los Angeles County men have pleaded not guilty to charges that they conspired to sell two kilos of cocaine to Ventura undercover officers on Saturday.

Mario Waters, 31, general manager of the Harbortown Marina Resort Hotel in Ventura; Cesar Fernandez, 59, of Los Angeles; Henry Munoz, 36, of Van Nuys; and Alfonso Amaya, 34, of Los Angeles, all pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Ventura County Municipal Court to one count each of conspiracy to possess for sale and to sell cocaine.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory Phillips said Waters had been negotiating with the undercover officers for several months to sell them cocaine, which he then obtained through Fernandez. Phillips said Munoz and Amaya drove the car that delivered the two kilos, wrapped in a toy box and a shopping bag, which Waters handed to the undercover officers at the Olivas Park Golf Course last Saturday.

All four defendants are scheduled to undergo a preliminary hearing Nov. 5. Waters was held in lieu of $300,000 bail; Fernandez was held in lieu of $500,000 bail; and Amaya and Munoz were held in lieu of $200,000 bail each.