Countywide : 3 Drug Suspects Plead Not Guilty

Three men from the San Diego area pleaded not guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to charges of marijuana trafficking that stemmed from their arrest last month in the Thousand Oaks area.

Officers arrested the men and seized 261 pounds of the illicit drug in what sheriff’s narcotics officers described as the largest marijuana bust in Thousand Oaks history.

Entering not guilty pleas were Carlos Salgado, 22, of Chula Vista; Juan Tapia, 28, of Tijuana, Mexico; and Everardo Diaz, 24, of San Diego. A fourth defendant in the case, Andres Martinez, 23, of San Diego, remains at large after he escaped during questioning following his arrest.

All four were indicted Monday by the Ventura County Grand Jury.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch ordered the three men held over for trial on charges of transporting marijuana, possession for sale and offering to sell marijuana. They are in custody on $500,000 bail each. A jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 10.

The men were arrested June 21 in a Westlake parking lot, where prosecutors say sheriff’s undercover officers had arranged to buy a large quantity of marijuana after an earlier purchase of five pounds.

After the men were transferred to the East Valley Sheriff’s Station, Martinez apparently picked the lock on his handcuffs and escaped from an interview room. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, Deputy Dist. Atty. Nancy Ayers said.