CYPRESS : Sweep of 4 Motels Nets 14 Drug Arrests

Police swept a strip of four motels in the 5600 block of Lincoln Avenue on Tuesday, arresting 14 people on narcotics charges, Sgt. Gordon Re said.

For the last two months, undercover members of the Police Department’s special narcotics team had targeted street-level drug dealers along the strip, where methamphetamines and other drugs were sold from motel rooms, police said.

Based on the investigation, warrants were issued for five men and five women, ranging in age from 22 to 42, Re said. At 8 a.m. Tuesday, 26 members of the Police Department began serving the warrants at the four motels--Sunshine Inn, Country Club Inn, Cloud 9 Motel and Cypress Lodge. Warrants also were served at two residences, in Cypress and Stanton.

All 10 suspects named in the warrants were arrested on suspicion of felony sales of a controlled substance, and were being held in Orange County Jail on $25,000 bail each, Re said.

In the process of serving the warrants, officers arrested three other adults and one juvenile on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines. Two of the adults were being held in county jail and one was cited and released, and the juvenile was released to his parents, police said.

Six minor children, ranging in age from 1 to 12 years old, were taken into protective custody in connection with the arrests. They were taken to the Orangewood Home for Children.