SIMI VALLEY : 3 Men Arrested on Drug Charges
Three Simi Valley men were being held Thursday in Ventura County Jail on suspicion of possessing and selling cocaine, authorities said.
Craig Rickard, 26, Martin Schulz, 21, and Kurtis Hulsebus, 21, were arrested by Ventura County sheriff’s detectives Wednesday after 2.2 pounds of cocaine was found in their possession, Sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Pentis said.
The arrests ended a three-week investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, district attorney’s investigators, the Santa Paula Police Department and California Highway Patrol.
Street value of the cocaine was estimated at $100,000, Pentis said. Bail was set at $100,000 for each man.
“Normal bail would have been $20,000, but we upped it due to the large quantity of coke and the fact that they were armed during the possession,” Pentis said.
One of the men had a 9-millimeter automatic pistol, Pentis said. He said the gun and two pickup trucks driven by the men were seized at the scene in the 200 block of Houston Drive in Thousand Oaks. Pentis said the men are suspected of selling cocaine wholesale in public.
“They call for these deals to be in public spots so there’s less chance of shooting,” he said.
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