AGOURA : Grand Jury Indicts 3 on Drug Charges
The Ventura County grand jury has indicted an Agoura couple and a Chatsworth man on charges of conspiracy to sell cocaine.
Anthony C. Scearce, 34, and his wife Jeannene J. Scearce, 23, both of Agoura, and Richard A. Mandel, 23, of Chatsworth are being held in the Ventura County Jail with bail set at $500,000 each.
Ventura County sheriff’s deputies began investigating the Scearces in early November after an informant said they were dealing cocaine, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory G. Phillips said. Undercover investigators asked to buy 15 kilograms of the drug, he said, and the Scearces initially provided one kilogram and then three kilos. They were arrested Dec. 9 when the second batch of cocaine was delivered, Phillips said.
Mandel was arrested the same day. Investigators determined that he was the Scearces’ source for cocaine, Phillips said.
The three suspects will be arraigned Jan. 8 in Ventura County Superior Court. All three pleaded not guilty in a Municipal Court appearance after their arrest.
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