Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies who arrested a suspected drug dealer say the man was apprehended before he went to the home of another alleged drug trafficker who was planning to rob him.
UCSB student James Chung, 20, was taken into custody at 8:30 p.m. Friday during a traffic stop by an Isla Vista Foot Patrol Officer for vehicle-code violations, said Sgt. Mark Williams.
However, Chung was found with more than a quarter pound of processed marijuana and $2,000 in cash, Williams said.
Further evidence indicated Chung possessed the marijuana for sales purposes, and he was arrested on drug-possession, transportation-of-marijuana and other charges.
Chung was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $200,000 due to repeated felony offenses, Williams said.
Deputies learned that Chung was en route to an apartment in the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive to meet another alleged narcotics trafficker, Jorden Gendron, 20, who they believe was planning to rob Chung for the currency, Williams said.
Deputies and officers from the UCSB Police Department responded to the scene and contacted Gendron, where information on the planned robbery was corroborated and he was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery.
He was booked into County Jail, with bail set at $50,000.
A search warrant was conducted at Gendron’s residence later that night, and officers arrested three Santa Barbara City College students at the scene for alleged possession of drugs for sale.
Francesco Iemoli, 20, and Connor Field, 20, were both charged with possession of cocaine for sale; and Christopher Tuszynski, 22, was charged with possession of marijuana for sale, Williams said.
Approximately one and a half pounds of processed marijuana, over an ounce of cocaine, and $3,000 in cash was seized at the scene. The three were booked into County Jail, with bail set at $30,000 each.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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