Members of the Santa Barbara Regional Narcotic Enforcement Team served a search warrant at an Isla Vista apartment over the weekend and arrested two men on drug charges.
Authorities searched on apartment on the 6600 block of Picasso Road early Saturday, and seized 156 grams of cocaine, 49 tablets of MDMA, or ecstasy, and about 40 pills of a drug that has not yet been identified, according to a release from the narcotics team.
SBRNET agents suspect that the drugs were meant to be sold to students and residents of the college community and arrested local student Dalton Turney, 21, and Woodland Hills resident Razel Tarantino, 21.
Turney was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $300,000 due to the amount of drugs found in the apartment. Tarantino was booked into jail, with bail set at $20,000.
The arrests were made on the same day that UCSB student Brandon Schmidt was found dead in his home on Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista, but authorities haven’t said if the incidents are related.
Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the 6600 block of Del Playa around 9:45 a.m. Saturday after Schmidt, 22, was found unresponsive by a roommate.
The Coroner’s Office is investigating the cause of death, which likely won’t be determined until toxicology results are back, Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Kelly Hoover said.
The SBRNET is a collective effort to target drug trafficking organizations in Santa Barbara County, including 26 multiple local and federal agencies.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.