Five men on motel voucher program arrested for narcotics
By Gina Yarbrough
El Cajon, CA–Five men on a homeless voucher program was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of possession of drugs and illegal weapons at a local motel in the east county, the El Cajon Police Department said.
Officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for a violation at 11 a.m. in the 500 block of North Second in El Cajon.
The 63-year-old driver, John Bevins, was on probation for stolen property and was in possession of an illegal weapon, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. Bevins told officers he was staying in a motel room at the Best Value Inn located at 1274 Oakdale Avenue.
According to the El Cajon Police Department, the hotel participates in the San Diego County homeless voucher program. Officers went to The Best Value Inn to conduct a probation search of Bevins’ room. As officers approached that room, they observed 41-year-old Gene Garcia leaving it. They contacted Garcia and found him in possession of methamphetamine.
Officers discovered two other men inside the room, 53-year-old Daniel Manzur and 46-year-old Hector Robles. Manzur was the registered guest in the room and was staying there under the County’s homeless voucher program, administered by their vendor Equus. Manzur was in possession of methamphetamine. Manzur told officers he had been on the County’s homeless voucher program for 18 months in various El Cajon hotels, authorities said.
The second man inside the room, Robles, was on probation for possession of the stolen property. Robles was in possession of over 37 grams of methamphetamine. He was arrested for possession of drugs for sale. Officers learned Robles had a separate room at the motel. They conducted a probation search on the second motel room and located 46-year-old Arturo Ruiz, who was also in possession of methamphetamine.
Bevins was charged with possession of narcotics and an illegal weapon. Robles was charged with possession of narcotics for sale. Both men were booked into County Jail.
Officers cited Garcia, Manzur, and Ruiz for possession of narcotics. They were released from custody and will appear in court at a later date.
