CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A month-long investigation and surveillance by Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has led to two arrests and the seizure of over 10 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, valued at over $29,000.

On Wednesday task force members arrested Stephen Michael Poppe, 26, of Clearlake Oaks, and 22-year-old Jerrica Ashley Alvarez of Hopland, according to sheriff's Capt. James Bauman.

“That is a lot of meth taken out of circulation in our county,” Sheriff Rod Mitchell said of the operation.

During the Wednesday service of a search warrant signed by Superior Court Judge Andrew Blum earlier in the week, members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force made a traffic stop on a gold Ford Explorer being driven by Poppe on Highway 20 near the Red and White Market at about 11:10 a.m., Bauman said.

Poppe was found to be in possession of a small amount of suspected methamphetamine, narcotics paraphernalia, and $2,883 in cash. Bauman said Poppe was arrested without incident.

Following Poppe’s arrest, Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force members served the search warrant at his home on Garden Court in Clearlake Oaks. There they found Alvarez, who Bauman said was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

During the search of the home, task force members recovered and seized a total of 298 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine, several scales, a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun and other evidence of the sales of controlled substances, Bauman said.

Mitchell called the case “a good example of the quality work that our task force has been performing all along.”

Poppe was booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and transporting a controlled substance, according to jail records.

He remained in custody on Thursday with an enhanced bail of $100,000. Jail records indicated he was set to appear in court on the charges on Friday.

Alvarez was booked for being under the influence of a controlled substance and later cited to appear on the misdemeanor charge. Her bail was set at $3,000 and jail records indicated she has since been released.

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