Meth, pot are seized; man faces charges

A Centralia police officer’s narcotics investigation led to the arrest Wednesday of a Tenino man after detectives found 13 ounces of methamphetamine and four pounds of marijuana at his girlfriend’s Tenino property, court papers state.

According to the papers, Antonio Gutierrez-Cervantes, 29, of 149th Avenue in Tenino, has admitted to making methamphetamine deliveries in Thurston and Lewis counties, “at least 20 times in the last four months.”

During a court hearing Friday, Gutierrez-Cervantes was ordered held at the Thurston County Jail on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. His bail was set at $5,000. He has been an inmate at the jail since Feb. 23, when he was booked on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He is also being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.

On Feb. 19, a confidential informant purchased a half-ounce of meth from Gutierrez-Cervantes for $500 during an undercover operation in south Thurston County, court papers state. Members of the Centralia Police Department’s Anti Crime Team subsequently obtained consent to search Gutierrez-Cervantes’ girlfriend’s trailer in Tenino and found the meth and marijuana, court papers state.

Centralia police Sgt. James Shannon said Friday that the anti-crime team’s narcotics investigation that led to Gutierrez-Cervantes’ arrest is ongoing.

In an unrelated case, detectives arrested two men for allegedly selling heroin Thursday in the Big Lots parking lot on Marvin Road in Lacey during an undercover operation by the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team, which includes law enforcement from Kitsap and Mason counties.

Jose Paul Tobon-Contreras, 25, of Lacey, and Rigoberto Pino-Cruz, 32, of Olympia, are both accused of selling heroin. Both were being held Friday in lieu of $5,000 bail. Tobon-Contreras also has an immigration hold.