A 56-year-old man already on probation for gun and drug charges was behind bars in Pomona Saturday morning on suspicion of drug possession and sales.
Members of the Pomona Police Department’s Major Crimes Task Force and California Highway Patrol officers on patrol near the intersection of Casewell Avenue and Third Street at 9:15 p.m. Friday spotted a suspicious looking vehicle in an alley off Third Street and contacted the driver, according to PPD Sgt. D. Brown.
Officers noticed the driver, identified as Rafael Ochoa of Ontario, had a large amount of cash on him, broken down into small denominations consistent with the sale or distribution of drugs and small zip lock baggies in his possession that are commonly used to package small amounts of drugs for sales or distribution, according to PPD Sgt. D. Brown.
An investigation determined Ochoa was on federal probation for a gun charge and on probation in San Bernardino County for drug sales, Brown said.
Based on Ochoa’s probation status, officers searched places where he was staying, including the Pala Motel, at 987 E. Holt Avenue, and a home in Ontario. At the combined locations officers found about $13,000 in cash, over a pound of heroin packaged for sale, several ounces of methamphetamine, digital measuring scales and lists of people who owed Ochoa money, Brown said.
Ochoa was booked into the Pomona city jail.